Euphoria actor understands backlash to third - and final - season

Warning: This article contains spoilers for season three of Euphoria

An actor who starred in the third season of Euphoria says he understands the mixed reaction it's received - as the creator confirms it was the final ever series.

The popular HBO show focuses on dark topics - including smuggling drugs, making erotic video content and losing fingers in blood-soaked revenge scenes.

Some fans have also said its stars like Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney and Jacob Elordi have outgrown the drama, with seasons one and two coming out in 2019 and 2022.

But Toby Wallace, who plays neo-Nazi drug dealer Wayne, says the vibe was intentionally different for the final season.

The British-Australian actor, who joined the star-studded cast for this series, tells BBC Newsbeat he understands where fans are coming from as a fan himself.

"I remember walking on to their season going like 'okay this is definitely a little bit of a different show, like it feels different'," he says.

Since the season three finale on Sunday night, the show's creator Sam Levinson has done a New York Times interview confirming it was the last ever episode.

And Wallace says he thinks the showrunner deliberately didn't try "to replicate or do something that's already been done".

"I don't think you can really treat it as exactly the same vibe as the last two seasons, because it's not in a lot of ways," the 30-year-old says.

"He [Levinson] always wants to recreate and build something original."

When Euphoria first launched, it became one of the defining shows of its generation, but has returned after a five-year break to a more divided response.

But despite some strong criticism online, Wallace feels the overall reaction "has been really good".

Angus Cloud tribute 'really gorgeous'

London-born Wallace had his breakthrough role in 2019 as Moses in Babyteeth, before going on to feature in the Netflix teen drama The Society.

He says even before landing the role in Euphoria he was a huge fan and had "watched every single episode like three times all the way through".

Wallace says being part of the show was "totally a fever dream" and credits Levinson for dealing with "young people and loneliness and sex and drugs".

"He's created this thing like his writing never, it feels like it never judges people," he says.

Euphoria helped turn actors like Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney and Jacob Elordi into Hollywood stars.

Wallace says working with those huge names was "incredible" and the cast were "super warm, very welcoming".

He describes Zendaya, who plays Rue, as "fully a movie star, but she's super, super sweet".

"[She's] unbelievably professional, she's incredibly present," he tells Newsbeat.

"The way that she runs from emotion to emotion and the way she just knows that character so well it's insane to be around."

The 25-year-old played drug dealer Fez in the first two series, and Levinson used old test footage of Cloud with Zendaya to include him in the final episode.

Wallace describes the tribute as "just really gorgeous" and says it was "definitely the right way to go about it".

"For me personally I found Angus's performance in the TV show to really inspirational," he says.

"He was just so himself in the show, and I thought, especially by season two, he carried so much of it, and I just loved him as an actor."

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