How ‘Euphoria’ was a crazy starmaker for Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, and Sydney Sweeney

It’s mega-watt star power. 

Zendaya, Jacob Elordi and Sydney Sweeney are Gen-Z’s biggest superstars – making the “Euphoria” cast so stacked, it’s bonkers as it returns for Season 3 on Sunday. When the HBO series premiered in 2019, they didn’t have their current A-lister status.

The teen drama has arguably been a stronger star maker than bigger shows like “Saturday Night Live” or “Game of Thrones,” even though it didn’t technically “make” all of its mega-watt stars.

“Euphoria changed my life,” Elordi, 28, told Variety in 2023.  

“Saltburn” was his big screen breakout that same year. According to Vogue Australia, at the time, his future “Wuthering Heights” co-star Margot Robbie (who produced “Saltburn”) suggested him for the role because she saw him in “Euphoria.” 

Prior to playing troubled jock Nate, he starred in the 2018 Netflix flick, “The Kissing Booth.”

It was a viral phenomenon, so he wasn’t completely unknown.

But a teen romance is a far cry from how he later went on to star in prestige projects from creme de la creme filmmakers like Guillermo Del Toro (2025’s “Frankenstein”) and Sofia Coppola (2023’s “Priscilla”), and became Emerald Fennell’s muse (in 2023’s “Saltburn” and 2026’s “Wuthering Heights”). 

Before “Euphoria” put him in front of Hollywood tastemakers, Elordi could have had Noah Centineo’s career  – he’s doing fine, but he isn’t getting nominated for Oscars, or rumored to be the next James Bond.

In 2023, the actor told GQ UK that before landing on the HBO show, “I wasn’t booking jobs. I think I had – I don’t know, $400 or $800 left in my bank account – and ‘Euphoria’ was my last audition before I went home for a little while to make some money and recuperate.”

Compared to Elordi, “Euphoria” didn’t launch Zendaya to the same degree.

The actress, 29, had a successful career as a child star on Disney Channel, and she’d already made a splash on the big screen in two 2017 blockbusters ( “The Greatest Showman” opposite Hugh Jackman, and a big superhero flick, “Spider Man: Homecoming”).

Her “Euphoria” performance as the drug addict Rue earned her two Emmys, and positioned her for the more adult roles she went on to do later, like 2024’s “Challengers.”

In 2019, she told Elle that the show made her more confident.

“People actually saying I did a good job at my craft… it’s like, ‘Damn, I did work hard. I’m glad you see that,’” she said. “I should finally own that; it’s liberating. I feel lucky.”

Without “Euphoria,” she’d likely still be in big popcorn movies like the “Dune” franchise and Christopher Nolan’s upcoming “The Odyssey.”

But, she might not have the clout to carry a controversial indie movie like “The Drama” and elevate it to a respectable box office performance. 

Similarly, Sweeney, 28, was climbing the ranks of Hollywood even before she played the insecure, over-sexualized Cassie on “Euphoria.” 

She was in the trendy 2018 HBO miniseries “Sharp Objects” with Amy Adams, and she was also in “The Handmaid’s Tale” that same year.

After “Euphoria,” she went on to her current career, in flicks like 2023’s “Anyone But You” and 2026’s “The Housemaid” (not to mention, her status as a cultural lightning-rod for off-screen controversies like her 2025 American Eagle jeans ad and her bathwater soap). 

At the Season 3 premiere on April 7, Sweeney told Extra that she had “no idea” how the show would impact her career, and these days, she “definitely” reflects on how the show catapulted the cast to stardom. “It’s been a wild ride,” she said.  

Gen-Z stars aside, the “Euphoria” cast also includes the Oscar-nominated Colman Domingo, 56. He already had a long career before the show, but it earned him an Emmy and elevated him to further prominence, as he’s become an awards show staple.

So, Elordi is the cast member that the show truly “made,” but it does deserve credit for assembling them all together — and catapulting them.

It’s especially impressive, compared to other shows with reputations for launching talent.  

“Euphoria” has a measly two seasons (and a third forthcoming). “SNL” has a slew of famous alums, but it’s been around since the ‘70s. Considering “Euphoria’s” much-shorter lifespan, it’s remarkable that it launched three zeitgeist-defining mega stars.

“Game of Thrones” was also a bigger show than “Euphoria.” But although its stars Kit Harington, Maisie Williams, and Sophie Turner have gone on to respectable careers, they’re not A-listers, trendsetters, award season darlings in the same way that Zendaya, Sweeney, and Elordi are. 

“Euphoria’s” capacity to be a starmaker is as wild as its plot, and that’s its biggest legacy. 

“Euphoria” Season 3 premieres Sunday, April 12 at 9 pm on HBO.