Angus Cloud Is a Certified Lover Boy

Angus Cloud is not interested in being perceived. Stars, they're just like us!

The problem is, he is now very famous — despite how much the idea might make him squirm. Listen, once you've amassed a certain number of "come to Brazil" tweets, there's no arguing. Cloud not only stars in one of HBO's most-watched and most-discussed television shows ever, he is sitting front row at New York Fashion Week, trending on Twitter, and fine dining with New York's "It" kids. Sometimes all at once.

"I consider myself a regular person, you feel me?" he says. "Nothing special." Sure, maybe you could make the case that he's a "regular person," but he's not just any other 20-something kid in Hollywood. He is special. How else could the actor, one of a dozen soon-to-be A-listers cast in Euphoria, steal the spotlight like he did? His overnight fame is certainly proof of something.

"I was just going with it," he tells InStyle of his rapid ascent into the limelight. "I didn't really think about [fame] too much. [But] the reality is, it changed my life a lot." In 2018, the Oakland native was casually plucked from a New York City street by a casting agent and placed onto Euphoria's production lot. Now, with 6 million Instagram followers and over 1.5 million Twitter followers, it's hard to not be, well, seen.

In fact, when Cloud opted not to live tweet last week's episode of Euphoria — the season's strongest episode yet — as he's done since the first episode of season 2, fans lost their minds (me, I'm fans). Followers worried that Cloud's internet absence was a sign of Fezco's fate after the beloved drug dealer didn't seem to make it to Lexi's (expensive!) school play. (Cloud himself was characteristically quiet about Fez's storyline ahead of the season finale, which airs Feb. 27.) Lexi put her whole ballet flat into that high school production.

"It's wild for sure, watching it being made in-person and the moving parts of the stage and all that," Cloud says of the sexually charged play. "Our Life" had everything: drama, dry humping, a rotating stage, a yassified Lexi (Maude Apatow), and an unlimited budget. "It's crazy to see it on camera now after they put it all together." We're on a Zoom call in mid-February, a few days after InStyle's photo and video shoots, me in my makeshift office and him answering from his phone as he hops into a car, hustling to the next press event.

When I ask about the radio silence online this past Sunday night, he tells me he is not on Twitter. And while I have him on record asserting this fact three times, I refuse to believe him! But I do believe he just likes to mess with us. His management previously assured Bustle that Angus runs all his verified socials himself and does not have a social media manager.

So what's the truth? A silence lingers over our call that can only be compared to this staredown between P. Diddy and The Four's Elijah Connor. I cave first. Maybe I'm a bad journalist, or maybe Cloud just has a really good poker face. Regardless, we're teetering on borrowed time.

Considering how hard it was to lock down an interview with the actor, we can confirm the man is booked and busy. But the project he's looking forward to the most? "Taking a little break," he says with a sigh. "I've been working a lot."

He recently wrapped his first feature film (co-starring Halle Bailey) and has a horror thriller in the works. He also has a fragrance campaign with Ralph Lauren and just a few days ago, he attended the Coach show during New York Fashion Week, which launched a series of horny tweets, mostly regarding his proximity to certain celebrities and his fist full of Hot Cheetos, a brave move for a man wearing white.

"I'm just eating my hot chips, man. I didn't think it was a big deal." The rest of us would beg to differ.

Not only did he set the internet ablaze for spending the show snacking on chips, he was seated next to rapper Megan Thee Stallion — an entertaining cultural crossover, to say the least. "She was sweet," he tells me before disclaiming he also accidentally stole a sandwich from her green room. "I had to apologize. She was cool about it." I couldn't help but wonder if that's where he scored the Hot Cheetos as well.

"Maybe … I would just walk around hungry and I see some snacks and stuff. They was like, 'Hey, that's Megan Thee Stallion's sandwich.' I was like, 'Oh, shit. My bad.'" He pauses for a second then concludes, "She ain't going to eat all of these." While he's probably correct, he still feels a bit bad for the confusion. In the end, sharing is caring: Cloud offered a few of his hot chips to Megan while they watched the show.

Between running from the front row to interviews, he makes time for our photoshoot at InStyle's studio. He quietly saunters in, clad in a white turtleneck, khaki pants, and a Thom Browne jacket, an unexpected choice for someone who seems to prefer a less tailored silhouette. He has one word for his personal style: "swag." A word that's familiar, sometimes funny, and occasionally misused, so I ask him to expand. "It's all about how you carry yourself, you know what I'm saying?" I see the vision.

He's a natural on set, knowing how to work the camera, seamlessly playing around with his posing, and occasionally asking the question we all do: "Does this look cool?" He pushes for some prop play and even attempts a "reveal" moment, pulling his turtleneck above his head and then slowly back down. The execution is a bit goofy, but somehow works. It's fun to watch him mess around. He doesn't seem embarrassed or uncomfortable, but he does crack a smile when I catch him playfully bringing his closed pointer and thumb to and from his lips, gesturing to sort of smoking motion, as canned aerosol fog is sprayed above his head. Again, goofy, but somehow it works.

While filming the video interview, which took place after the photoshoot wrapped, his knees relentlessly bounce in his seat. It looks like a habit more than nerves. He snacks on seaweed, cracks a few jokes. Sometimes there are long stretches of silence, but he seems to be the only one who doesn't mind it. He can be an open book, but only for the right questions. There's a difference between being shy and being private."I don't like to be seen in public, to be honest. It's a lot of cool perks and fun stuff I've been doing. But yeah, to be honest with you, it's really strange for me. I don't really like everybody to know who I am. You feel me?"

Angus Cloud is a normal guy who happens to be very famous. He may be trolling us or selective about what he chooses to share with the world, but even with limited words he's arguably forthcoming about who he is, what he's about, what he wants. And what he wants is just not a lot. He was certainly never asking for *gestures to his skyrocketing fame* all this. I try to dig at what star sign he might be. He dodges as expected. I'm not the first to pry.

Angus is a simple guy: earthly, reserved, languid. I guess that he's a Taurus, but Google tells me Cancer. Later, we talk about crying so this checks out. He just reads like a homebody, who prefers to protect his peace. He keeps his circle tight; his friends are day one. "Hollywood's different. So I got more people from Oakland. See what's real and what's not." Maybe "lowkey" is a fitting word for him.

Some of the hardest episodes to film were the "pretty heavy" parts of the finale (I take a nervous breath). But he had some lighter moments, too. Like most of us, he prefers the scenes where his character is "sitting on the couch with Javon Walton [Ashtray] or Maude and stuff, just hanging out in there, not having to be too intense and just relaxing and just shooting this shit." As pleasing it was to watch Nate get what he deserves, it's just as satisfying to watch Lexi and Fez hold hands on the couch. Maybe more than pleasing… #FexiHive.

His longest answer during the on-camera portion of our interview – unprompted at that – is about love, specifically about how loving someone is sometimes letting them go. Maybe he's a Sting fan, or a hopeless romantic, but he seems to mean it when he says it. One of the on-set video producers even lets out a choked-up sigh. We all laugh in embarrassing agreement. Yeah, Angus is pretty tender, it's part of his whole heartthrob appeal; just ask half of Twitter.

I later remind him of his own statement during our Zoom call. He forgot but stands by the sentiment.

Fezco is both a lover and, as Nate's New Year's hospital bill can confirm, a fighter. Though Cloud is not to be confused with his character, he is in alignment. "You gotta fight for love sometimes. Can't just be one or the other, kind of got to be both." Corny? Sure. Could I cry? Correct. No matter Fezco's imminent fate, Angus Cloud is a rising star, whether he wants to admit it or not.

Below, Cloud finds out what a "Hollywood Chris" is, makes a case for regular milk, and lies to us about his last kiss.

What's the last thing you do before you fall asleep?

Lie down.

Do you have a favorite villain?

Maybe the Green Goblin.

Who is your celebrity crush?

I don't have a celebrity crush. I don't know that many celebrities.

What is the first album you ever owned?

I don't know, but I remember I had Snoop Dogg, the one with the cartoon on the front. I think it's Doggystyle. I had the Doggystyle CD back then when I was a kid with my little CD player.

What is your favorite pickup line?

"Hello, how you doing?"

Straight to the point.

Yeah. "What's your name?"

If you were required to spend a thousand dollars today, right now, what would you buy and why?

I don't know. Maybe some ice cream for everybody.

That's sweet.

Everybody can eat ice cream together.

In the video interview, you said you prefer whole milk. No oat or any alternatives. That true?

Yeah. Just milk. Classic cow's milk. I'm good with that. They try to cancel cow's milk or something. They try to act like they never drank a nice, cold glass of milk growing up. Come on now. Can't rewrite history.

Can you name one place you've never been, but always wanted to go?

A black hole.

Can you describe your first kiss?

Yeah, it was probably pretty lame. It was a little weak ass kiss. Playing spin the bottle or some shit.

Wait, can you describe your last kiss? Any spin the bottle?

My last kiss. We bonked teeth and I accidentally chipped her tooth.

Oh my god, that was your last kiss??

I said that to make that interesting. I don't know. I made that up.

When was the last time you cried?

Cried the other day.

Do you have a favorite Hollywood Chris?

A Hollywood what?

A Hollywood Chris. So there are a lot of famous Chris's in Hollywood. So anyone that would be your favorite. Could be Chris Rock, it could be Chris Pine…

Kris Cutlery. He invented cutlery.

[Ed. note: Kris Cutlery did not invent cutlery.]

Do you have a favorite bagel order?

Bagels with cream cheese.

Plain?

Everything bagel.

Toasted?

Yeah, come on now.

Photographs: Kendall Bessent, assisted by Braylen Dion. Polaroids by Angus Cloud. Grooming: Amy Komorowski. Special thanks to Polaroid. Booking: Isabel Jones. Creative Director: Jenna Brillhart. Social Direction: Danielle Fox and Ana Osorno. Visuals Editor: Kelly Chiello. Associate Photo Editor: Amanda Lauro. Video Director: Justine Del Gaudio. Producer: Sahara Pagan. Executive Producer: Bree Green.