Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje has revealed that his agent’s creative lie helped him clinch the role of villainous Alamo Brown in Euphoria.
The British actor, 58, appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! following the explosive finale of the HBO drama. Kimmel asked Akinnuoye-Agbaje, “Alamo, your character, rides a horse on the show. Do you have experience riding horses?”
“Dude, I’m from London,” the TV star responded. “Like we drive cars, ride bicycles.” He then revealed that when he got the role, creator Sam Levinson asked him if he could ride a horse, but the actor said no.
“He said, ‘But your agent told me you ride a horse.’ I said ‘no.’
“I said, ‘Maybe he meant a camel.’ You know, I’ve ridden a camel. And I guess he figured as long as I could ride a beast with two humps, I could ride a beast with no humps.”
Akinnuoye-Agbaje said he was “swiftly” placed in a horse training camp every day for six weeks.
“Do you feel like you now will continue riding horses for the rest of your life. Did you fall in love with it?” Kimmel asked.
“Only if they pay me a lot of money,” quipped the Lost actor.
Akinnuoye-Agbaje joined Euphoria in season 3, which jumped five years into the future from its previous chapter. He told the Hollywood Reporter he was immediately interested in being cast as this season’s antagonist and sent a self-tape to Levinson, which secured him a meeting with the creator.
Akinnuoye-Agbaje‘s character on Euphoria had one of the most provocative storylines in an already action-packed third season. Alamo was involved in a major character’s demise, but met his own end in an explosive climax.
Zendaya’s character, Rue, becomes embroiled in Alamo’s world, working for the strip club owner and arms dealer. Akinnuoye-Agbaje said he understands his character was contentious, but credits Levinson for giving Alamo a layered history.
“What I have seen is how people have embraced the character of Alamo,” he explained to Variety. “Even though he does present an ominous threat to our beloved Rue, they still love to hate him. And now that Sam has written and shown the backstory to Alamo, they see him as a human and can empathize with his trauma.”
