One of the lingering mysteries of Euphoria’s second season has been Samantha, a rich young mom played by Minka Kelly. All season long, Maddy (Alexa Demie) has been babysitting Samantha’s son and vamping around her massive home, getting small glimpses at her glamorous life. But…who is this woman? What does she do? And why does she trust Maddy, of all the Euphoria teens, to watch her kid? 

Some of those questions were finally answered in Sunday night’s episode, in which Samantha turns into Maddy’s mentor—which, in Euphoria world, means hanging out with the teen in the pool, pouring her a glass of rosé, and gleefully listening to her boy problems. 

“After our first day working together, [show creator Sam Levinson] said, ‘I want you to be the older, wiser version of [Maddy],’” Kelly says in a phone call. “I was like, ‘Yes, please! I love that. I see so much of myself in this girl.’”

Levinson wrote the role of Samantha specifically for Kelly, the actress says, offering her the part around the time of her birthday in 2021. “I was like, ‘Sam Levinson knows who I am?’” Kelly says. “To be invited on one of your favorite shows is such a surreal thing.” 

Still, Kelly didn’t know what she was signing up for when she initially accepted the role. “It was actually so vague,” she says, adding that all she initially had to go on was a paragraph of dialogue. At the time she accepted, Samantha was only supposed to be in one episode—but Levinson stretched out the part once he saw her dynamic with Demie. He also rewrote things on the fly, giving Kelly and Demie brand-new scripted dialogue for the pool scene in episode six the morning of shooting. 

“That can be frustrating and can throw some people off, but I actually trust and feel safe with a director who’s not afraid to change his mind,” Kelly says. “At the end of the day, the goal is what ends up onscreen. We’re all here to facilitate his vision.”

But as much as Levinson likes to change things around, Kelly says the director was also open to letting her make character tweaks. In the very episode where she’s introduced, Samantha is shown wearing a slinky purple gown, which she asks Maddy to unzip. There’s a discomfiting sensual edge to the scene, but Kelly notes that it’s tamer than what was originally scripted. “[Levinson] thought it would be more interesting if my dress fell to the ground,” Kelly recalled. At the time, she disagreed. “That was my first day as a guest on this new show, and I just didn’t feel comfortable standing there naked.” 

Her story echoes one that cast member Sydney Sweeney recently told, noting that her character, Cassie, was originally slated to have more nude scenes in season two, until she voiced her concerns to Levinson. “I would tell Sam, ‘I don’t really think that’s necessary here,’” Sweeney told The Independent. “He was like, ‘Okay, we don’t need it.’” 

Kelly went the same route. “I said, ‘I’d love to do this scene, but I think we can keep my dress on,’” she recalls. “He was like, ‘Okay!’ He didn’t even hesitate. And he shot a beautiful scene and got exactly what he wanted.”

She and Demie rehearsed the pool scene as much as possible the day of shooting to make it feel natural and worn-in. They ended up relying on that foundation, Kelly notes, because the pool was freezing. “Freezing,” she repeats. “Every time they yelled, ‘Cut!’ I was shivering again.” She and Demie defrosted between takes with a heating hose that shot hot water into the pool in an attempt to beat the cold. “[Alexa] was so sweet, making sure that I stayed warm,” Kelly says. “She was just so considerate.”

Samantha’s purpose in the series is revealed in that pivotal scene. Maddy tells her about Cassie sleeping with Nate. Samantha then reveals that when she was a teen, she was the Cassie in the scenario, hooking up with her best friend’s boyfriend behind her back. It’s a slight balm—albeit a miserable one—for Maddy, a lesson that people make horrible mistakes and can still go on to be decent humans. It was a relatable moment for Kelly herself, who says she deeply identifies with Maddy. “I used to have a little bit of an attitude,” she says with a laugh. “I did my makeup like that in high school. I’ve also been in my share of toxic relationships.”

“I love the idea of making sure that she didn’t have this misunderstanding that in order to have a healthy, functioning relationship as an adult, it means you have to live a perfect life,” Kelly continues. “You’re not defined by your teenage years in high school. This is the time you’re supposed to mess up. This is all just a period of discovery.”

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