Alexa Demie on Euphoria, Fame, and the Road to Playing Maddy

Ahead of the Season 3 finale of HBO's Euphoria, Alexa Demie is reflecting on her time with the series and addressing some lingering questions about her future in entertainment.

In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, the actress—who portrays Maddy throughout the show—tackled speculation about potentially stepping away from acting once the hit drama concludes. When asked about retirement rumors swirling online, Demie kept things light, quipping, "Should we just ride with it?"

Her path to the role wasn't straightforward. Demie initially auditioned for Rue, the show's central character, but didn't land the part. She recalled the emotional toll of that rejection, describing how she and a friend channeled those feelings into music. "I was being so dramatic, like, 'This is the end of everything, my life's over,'" she said. "He was like, 'Let's let that out [on the track].' We started recording, and halfway through I got a call saying, 'They want you back for Maddy.'"

Creator Sam Levinson revealed that while he envisioned Demie in the Maddy role from the start, HBO executives had a different vision. "They had imagined a blond cheerleader," Levinson explained. "I remember pulling her aside and giving her some tips. I think she was wearing something red, and I knew that the execs would immediately think, 'Oh, she's too Latin.' So I told her, 'Don't wear anything red,' to soften up what I knew would be their initial perception."

Demie also opened up about navigating industry expectations as a young actress. She described experiences reading for roles where her ethnicity was explicitly excluded from consideration, which fueled her determination rather than discouraging her. "I was sick of going into those rooms," she said. "But knowing me, I never would have quit. I'm more of the energy of like, 'No, I'm going to show you I can do it.'"

When it comes to the show's intimate content, Demie was candid about her evolving perspective. Early on, she felt pressured to participate in sex scenes out of fear it might cost her the role. "I thought that if I said no to doing them, then I wouldn't have the part. Not because anyone ever said that to me, but because I was so young and I didn't know," she explained.

However, after filming a montage involving Maddy's infidelity storyline, she reassessed her comfort level. "Once I did it, I realized, 'OK, I don't love how this feels.' So I said something, and everyone was empathetic, and I never did that again," she shared, noting that the show's team responded supportively to her boundaries.

Regarding public commentary about her career trajectory and apparent lack of interest in higher-profile opportunities, Demie pushed back on assumptions about her ambitions. "It's like, did you ever think that I don't want it? People really take the authority out of your hands. What happened to my ability to choose? I like my life like this, and I wouldn't change it," she said.

Demie recently appeared in a behind-the-scenes photo collection shared by her Euphoria co-star Sydney Sweeney, offering fans a glimpse of the production's final days.