Since Hunter Schafer stepped into the spotlight playing Jules in the HBO hit Euphoria, her star power has skyrocketed. In just a few years, the runway model, activist for LGBTQIA+ rights and actress has become a recognizable name amongst teens and fashion industry professionals alike.  This spring, she’s the new face of Mugler’s Angel Elixir perfume, another role that suits her perfectly. Here, the talented young star discusses her acting career, the importance of queer voices in art and her current style.

How did you know you wanted to be an actress?

It was less of a discovery of wanting to be an actress more that I fell into it. I was a model in New York shortly after graduating high school. I did that for about a year, or a year and a half. I had plans to go to fashion school, but my agency sent me to an audition near the end of that time period. It happened to be Euphoria, and Euphoria happened to snowball in the right direction.

Acting was kind of really terrifying at first. It was not something I was anticipating for myself. I’ve ended up growing fond of it. I feel like I have a very special artistic relationship with it now, but it wasn’t always like that.

How much of your Euphoria character Jules is in Hunter, and how much of Hunter is in Jules?

There’s a lot of me in Jules. When I first started playing her especially, there might have been a lot of me in her, and her in me. I feel less parallel to Jules now than I did when I first started playing her. Nineteen-year-old Hunter felt very in line with Jules’ essence that we created in season one. But I feel like I’ve branched out a little bit since.

Euphoria is praised for its depiction of Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha. How closely do you think the show depicts those generations?

The cast is composed of a lot of members of Gen-Z, and the writer and creator Sam Levinson worked closely with all of us, so I think there was a lot of truth infused into it. It was a close collaboration with actual members of Gen-Z. But at the end of the day, I don’t think it’s supposed to be a super accurate depiction, instead it’s a dramatization of Gen-Z humans.

Can you think of an important turning point in your career, and what it felt like?

I still feel pretty new to referring to my professional life as a career. I still feel like I’m getting started in a lot of ways, but I think there’s been a couple turning points. The obvious one is “Euphoria”—that was really my jumping off point in acting and graduating into these larger scale opportunities.

Even within the past year, I’ve been away from a lot of social media and events. I’ve kind of taken a distance from everything, but it’s because I’ve been making movies, which was not a thing before. Now I feel like I’m cresting this next little turning point, where I get to graduate from television and can show some other sides of myself with acting. I’m excited for this upcoming turning point.

What do you think people respond to about you? 

I think it doesn’t go without saying that I am in the public eye as a trans person who’s pretty young, and part of a really well received TV show. There’s not too many trans people out in the media in this position. I think Gen-Z is in a sociopolitical space where we’re ready for that. I just feel really grateful to be living in a time where someone like me can have this career path, and that I get to be part of carving out space for others to take over.

I try to bring authenticity to what I do, too. I hope that my generation can see that as well, I hope people are responding to that.

How do you feel about LGBTQIA+ representation in art right now?

We’ve witnessed such a rapid change, even in the past five years. The media landscape for trans people has had a 180 degree shift looking at it now, compared to what I was looking for before I transitioned. The internet was one of the first places I turned to, and now compared to then—I’m excited about the pace in which that change has happened.

That’s not to say that we are a hundred percent represented — I don’t know what that would look like—but I can absolutely say I’ve seen a huge transformation. And it’s still happening! That’s something I feel hopeful about.

What place do you feel like fashion has in your life?

My relationship with fashion feels more dual than it did before. I’m either dressed to the nines and going to a carpet or an event where I’m going to be seen. It feels more performative now, for sure, which is fun. It reminds me of the Mugler brand identity, how the runway shows were performances. That’s how I like to think about going to an event.

It’s either that or it’s cozy, utilitarian. I’ve found myself dressing up less day to day now, but that’s kind of nice, too. Caring about comfort is its own way of caring about fashion.

What does beauty mean to you?

It’s a broad and a kind of tough question. At the end of the day, beauty is a truth. You can’t hide it and you can’t recreate it. You can’t look away from it. It just is. It just captures you.

What was your first experience with fragrances?

My first experience with fragrances was noticing their ornate vessels, beautiful little statues that hold the fragrances, around the house. My sisters and my mom had fragrances before I did. I came into the game a little bit later. As far as the actual scent: smelling it on my mom in the mornings before church.

What do you like about Angel Elixir?

I like its unique take on femininity. It recognizes the duality of femininity, the complexity of it. Basic femininity can feel pretty flat and floral. There are sweet components of the Angel Elixir scent that are matched with bright and woody, more intense elements. It feels more parallel to how I feel about my own femininity, what I think is cool and powerful. Matching the soft with the hard and the powerful, that’s what this fragrance encompasses really beautifully. And also it is very long lasting.

Angel is historically about unpromised self-expression. Does that reflect you? Does it reflect what you were saying about wanting to be very authentic?

Yes. I think it reflects what I aim to be every day. I’m trying to bring me to the table. It’s also a requirement for my jobs, or at least it’s a requirement to do a good job at what I do. I need to bring honesty and truth, my unrestrained self into my work all the time. Mugler feels very in line with that.

How would you define a contemporary angel?

A contemporary angel is someone who moves with grace and power. Someone who is able to be soft, and use softness as a strength and as a power. Someone who harnesses the best of femininity, the best of masculinity, and everything in between, to propel their fantasies into reality.

Read more:
Hunter Schafer’s True Colours
Hunter Schafer Is the New Global Brand Ambassador for Shiseido Makeup
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