Barbie Ferreira has revealed more about why she quit her breakout role as teenage cam-girl Kat in HBO Max’s drug-fueled drama Euphoria in 2022 after two successful seasons.
At the time, the 29-year-old actress didn’t explain anything about her exit via Instagram story, just: ‘After four years of getting to embody the most special and enigmatic character Kat, I’m having to say a very teary-eyed goodbye.
‘I put all my care and love into her and I hope you guys could feel it. Love you Katherine Hernandez.’
In a teaser for Tuesday’s episode of the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast obtained by JustJared.com, Ferreira said the whole ordeal ‘was kind of the opposite of dramatic.’
‘It was like a long process of being like, “I don’t know if this is it for me.” And then like having conversations with people and us trying to figure out how to make Kat like a fully fleshed-out character, and it just wasn’t going anywhere,’ the Manhattan-born, Jersey-raised star said.
‘I truly was just like, since we can’t find anything and we can’t land on anything, I’m like, let me just go. Let me just do my thing because it’s a long [shoot] and you can’t like leave.’
Ferreira continued: ‘And the thing is, I don’t need to be on the biggest TV show on Earth if I’m not like acting, you know? So I would rather do an indie movie where I’m acting [and] flexing my muscles.’
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show catwalker said she was treated like a ‘background character’ during season two of Euphoria while surrounded by movie stars like Zendaya, Jacob Elordi and Sydney Sweeney.
‘Some people are like, “I would do that!” I’m like, “Good for you.” You want to be a background character for nine months? That’s like totally fine and cool,’ Ferreira said.
‘But I want to do other stuff. I want to produce indie cinema. I don’t have time. I do indie movies that literally are made on a shoestring budget, but [they’re] cool and real stories. And I’d rather that than kind of be a second thought.’
Last Friday, the former plus-sized model told Deadline that she’s ‘a completely different actress, different person’ since playing the plum part as a teenager in Sam Levinson’s remake of Ron Leshem’s 2012 Israeli series.
Ferreira has continued to remain tight-lipped over precisely how she shed half her weight in 2024 amid the GLP-1 agonist boom.
Perhaps the House of Spoils star dodged a bullet considering Euphoria season three – which premiered Sunday – has scored a dismal 42 percent approval rating (out of 33 reviews) and a 53 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Since the five-year time jump, many of the characters have become involved in sex work, crime or work that’s adjacent to both.
Ferreira executive produced and stars as music critic Grace Pine in Chandler Levack’s 2011-set indie rock rom-com Mile End Kicks, which has earned rave reviews ahead of its limited release in US theaters this Friday.
The queer brunette also stars as content moderator Margot Romero in Daniel Goldhaber’s $7.4 million-budget reimagining of the 1978 horror mockumentary Faces of Death, which only earned $1.7 million at the box office last weekend.
Faces of Death – also starring Charli XCX and Dacre Montgomery – currently has a 67 percent critic approval rating (out of 94 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes.
Ferreira – who boasts 4.8 million Instagram followers – is also every bit the influencer with paid partnerships for brands like Urban Decay Cosmetics, Gap and For Your Soul.
