Prior to his death at age 25, Angus Cloud wrapped filming his first leading role on the big screen.
‘Your Lucky Day’ is written and directed by Dan Brown and stars Cloud as Sterling, a mild-mannered drug dealer who takes a local convenience store hostage on Christmas Eve after he witnesses a wealthy older man win the $156 million lottery ticket.
A first look at the trailer, which was released on Friday, October 6, shows Cloud in a fatal shootout with a police officer (Sterling Beaumon), leaving six witnesses to decide if they should speak up about what they’ve seen or take a cut of the money and split. Elliot Knight, Jessica Garza, Mousa Hussein Kraish, Jason Wiles, Sebastian Sozzi, Spencer Garrett, and Jason O’Mara also star.
“I just keep thinking about that old question, ‘What would you do if you had a million dollars?’” Cloud says in the trailer. “Nobody ever got rich without doing no crime.”
According to Brown, it was his wife who suggested Cloud for the role of Sterling after she binged HBO’s Euphoria, in which Cloud starred as Fezco — another well-intentioned drug dealer — on the HBO series’ first two seasons. The director was initially hesitant about the casting choice due to the similarities between the two characters, but a look at Cloud’s previous interviews convinced him he was the right choice.
“I had written the character based on people I had grown up with: guys who sold drugs and would start fights with frat boys or their stepdads, but who were also super protective and loyal to their friends,” Brown told Entertainment Weekly in an interview published on Friday. “[Cloud’s] stories and outlook were so right on for the character, I just had to go for it.”
Your Lucky Day, which premieres on November 10, will honor Cloud at the end of the film with a “For Angus” before the credits roll, paying homage to the actor after his death earlier this year. . “As with all things Angus, what I remember was his kindness and enthusiasm for others,” Brown told EW about the heartfelt tribute. “He was one of one.”
Cloud’s family announced the actor’s death in July. “It is with the heaviest heart that we had to say goodbye to an incredible human today. As an artist, a friend, a brother and a son, Angus was special to all of us in so many ways,” Cloud’s family told TMZ at the time, noting that he “struggled intensely” with his mental health after laying his father, Conor Hickey, to rest in Ireland the week prior.
Two months later, the Alameda County Coroner told Us Weekly that Cloud died of acute intoxication following an accidental overdose. According to the authorities, the actor had cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl and benzodiazepines in his system at the time of his death.
After his passing, Euphoria’s team took to social media to honor their cast member with a heartfelt tribute.
“We are incredibly saddened to learn of the passing of Angus Cloud. He was immensely talented and a beloved part of the HBO and Euphoria family,” the show’s social media pages read. “We extend our deepest condolences to his friends and family during this difficult time.”
Cloud, who was open about his struggles with mental health and addiction over the years, often praised the HBO series for offering an emphatic lens into hardships through his character.
“Not all your actions define you. I’ve said it before, good people are forced to do bad things. The question is, like, if you got a starving family, if you go steal some f—king apple off an orchard to f—king save your family, does that make you a bad person for stealing an apple or a good person for taking after your family? It’s not black and white,” he told Complex in February 2022. “Fez isn’t a bad person, he’s just someone in an unfortunate situation, kind of like most of the characters on Euphoria. What he does for a living doesn’t change the fact that he’s compassionate and good-natured, and ready to protect and defend his people when he needs to.”
In addition to Your Lucky Day, Cloud wrapped filming on two other projects before his death. He’ll appear in The Line opposite Alex Wolff, Austin Abrams and John Malkovich and North Hollywood alongside Miranda Cosgrove and Vince Vaughn.
