Kadeem Hardison Talks Reuniting With Disney Channel Co-Star Zendaya On ‘Euphoria’ Season 3

Kadeem Hardison and Zendaya had a little reunion in Euphoria season three!

The 60-year-old actor and the 29-year-old actress previously starred as father and daughter nearly a decade ago on the Disney Channel series KC Undercover, and reunited on the HBO series.

In Euphoria, Kadeem plays Big Eddy, who handles the money and more for Alamo at the strip club, where Rue starts working.

Following the HBO series’ fourth episode this week, Kadeem opened up about reuniting with Zendaya all these years later.

What did Kadeem Hardison say about working with Zendaya again?

Z and I go back to K.C. Undercover, and when we both left there, we were eager to see if we could really act — like, let’s get off a Disney show and get some meat and see if we can still chew. She went to Euphoria and I went to Teenage Bounty Hunters or something like that. She invited me to the premiere, and I remember being wildly uncomfortable watching that as an adult with all these kids. I was like, “Oh my God, is this what happens with the kids now? Is that what the kids are going through? This is crazy!” It introduced me to a world I had no idea existed. – Kadeem via THR

I met Sam [Levinson], visited the set and we had a couple of dinners. He was probably interested in figuring out if we could do something and then boom, next thing you know it happened. I got a call last year, “Hey, come on in and read for you Euphoria.” I was like, “What?”

Zendaya was the reason for introducing Kadeem to Sam Levinson

She had a little Christmas dinner or Thanksgiving dinner and she said, “Come on by.” And she was like, “You’ve got to meet.” 

Though Zendaya introduced them, Kadeem still had to audition for his role!

Straight audition, not even like “we’ve been thinking about” or anything. Just like a regular audition: Here’s an appointment, here’s the time. I read the sides. I got an idea of what they wanted me to do, prepared, went in — and it was a live audition, which I hadn’t had in, Jesus, in years. Casting director in a room, the old school way. Maybe three weeks later they called and said, “We’ve just got to clear it with HBO and clear it with this one and clear it with that one.” It was one read and locked up.

Kadeem was excited to share scenes with Zendaya

I always wanted to be on HBO — and time was ticking (Laughs). I was like, “Damn, I don’t know if I’m ever being on an HBO show.” So this was a no-brainer, especially if I was going to get a chance to be in scenes with Z. From the sides I was like, “Well, I’m hoping this is her that I’m talking to.” 

The actor also shared what was different about working with her then vs now

For lack of a better phrase, she’s still the same guy. She’s always been that person and she’s always been a boss. I was really impressed with how much of a boss she was when I met her when she was 16 or 17. I was impressed that she was the executive producer on the show we were doing then — and so, to turn around and find out she’s still operating in that capacity and just kind of expanded it to films and everything else? Yeah. She’s a little less goofy — a little less goofy. As a kid, she was pretty goofy and we would kid each other a lot and now she’s matured a little bit. But she has her goofy side. I call her my little big sister — the more mature one between the two of us, but I’m the older one.

She shocks me every time. I knew she was good when we were doing K.C., but I didn’t know she had that kind of depth to go to — and she didn’t know I had it either. It was like, “Shit, I’ve got to catch up because she’s running away with it.” She’s really one of my favorite actors to watch, especially since I know her and know that she’s not really Rue and she wasn’t really K.C. Her instincts are top-notch.

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