‘Euphoria’: Barbie Ferreira Was in Therapy When She Found out She Got the Part

The cast of Euphoria is a fairly eclectic one. The ensemble is comprised of long-time actors, like Zendaya and Coleman Domingo, first-time actors, like Angus Cloud, actors who’d found prior success in other fields, like Hunter Schafer and Barbie Ferreira, and more. But despite the hodgepodge of experience levels, the show has found mainstream success.

Scoring a part in Euphoria was no easy feat for most of the actors. But some of the cast members had a much more difficult audition process in comparison to others. Cloud, for example, was quite literally picked up off the street by a casting director. Meanwhile, Sydney Sweeney only had to put herself on tape once before she was offered the role of Cassie Howard. Ferreira, on the other hand, had to jump through a number of hoops before she was offered her spot in the Euphoria cast.

Sam Levinson had Barbie Ferreira audition seven times before offering her a spot in the ‘Euphoria’ cast

Ferreira had to audition a whopping seven times before she officially booked the role of Kat Hernandez. While she was handling her auditions well, it took some time for Sam Levinson (Euphoria’s creator, writer, and director) to realize she was the right actor for the job. Because Ferreira carried herself with confidence, it was difficult for people to imagine her as the often insecure Kat. This led to multiple rounds of auditions for Ferreira.

Funnily enough, Ferreira was venting about Euphoria’s long audition process when she learned she’d book a role in the cast. In an interview with New York Magazine, the actor got candid about the moment that would change her life.

The model was in therapy when she learned she got the part of Kat Hernandez

“I was in therapy when I found out I got the part of Euphoria, talking about how I have been waiting a month and I can’t sleep,” Ferreira revealed. “Thankfully it was during therapy, so if the news was bad Carol would have been there for me.”

Euphoria may have been Ferreira’s first acting job, but she’d been waiting for a role like Kat for most of her life. In an interview with Dazed, the model admitted that acting had always been her end goal. While she’d made a name for herself as a model, it was mostly a means to an end.

Being in a show like ‘Euphoria’ was always the goal for Ferreira

“With acting, I’m following an actual dream of mine, whereas modeling I fell into because I was trying to act,” the Euphoria star shared. “I was like, ‘I need to find other outlets to get myself known.’ I knew how hard and competitive it was. I was auditioning (from the age of) eight, although my mom didn’t know about it. My drama teacher would help me out by taking me to auditions. When I started acting (again after modeling), the dynamic of my life changed.”