Angus Cloud was “in a very bad way” when he returned to Ireland to say a “final goodbye” to his father last month, according to family friends.
The Euphoria actor was found dead at his home in California on Monday, just weeks after he travelled to Ireland to scatter the ashes of his father Conor Hickey.
While the 25-year-old was born in the US, his family hail from Ireland – and most of them still live there.
Angus, his mother and twin sisters flew into Dublin Airport on July 19, before returning to the US on July 23.
During their trip, the actor’s family went to scatter the ashes at a 100-acre farm still owned by his late father in Laurelstown, Co. Meath.
But Angus couldn’t face the ceremony, and stayed in his hotel room.
Family friend Mick Gleeson told the MailOnline: “He was just so traumatised that he could not attend. He was in a very bad way and in total shock.”
“He was in such a fragile state and struggling with the death of his father. He was like a rabbit caught in the headlights and was just unable to come to terms with his loss.
“I sat down with him and said he was now the man of the family, and he just could not handle it. He was a broken man.”
Another friend added: “I think coming back to his father’s place of birth and all that contained was just too much for him. He could not face the final goodbye to his father.
“It is awful that he felt so overcome that his own life has come to an end.”
According to family friends, Angus later regained his composure and went to the farm with his aunt to scatter some of the ashes.
He also attended a second ceremony with the extended Hickey family, when his father’s ashes were scattered over the graves of his parents at the Glasnevin Cemetery near Dublin.
Angus’ father Conor Hickey, who emigrated to California in the early 80s, died from cancer on May 18 at the age of 65.
He was cremated in a private ceremony, and his wife Lisa later held a memorial service at a marina near their home in Oakland, Calif.
In a statement on Monday, the actor’s family revealed he “intensely struggled” with the passing of his father in the weeks before his death.
The statement read: “It is with the heaviest heart that we had to say goodbye to an incredible human today. As an artist, a friend, a brother and a son, Angus was special to all of us in so many ways.”
“Last week he buried his father and intensely struggled with this loss. The only comfort we have is knowing Angus is now reunited with his dad, who was his best friend.
“Angus was open about his battle with mental health and we hope that his passing can be a reminder to others that they are not alone and should not fight this on their own in silence.”
“We hope the world remembers him for his humor, laughter and love for everyone. We ask for privacy at this time as we are still processing this devastating loss,” the statement concluded.
One of Cloud’s final Instagram posts, posted on July 14th, was a photo of his beloved dad smiling alongside the caption: “miss u breh.”
The actor, whose full name was Conor Angus Cloud Hickey, was incredible close to his father, and was even named after him.
During an interview with WSJ Magazine in 2019, Angus said he was planning on moving to Ireland before he was cast in Euphoria.
At the time, he said: “I was gonna move to Ireland for a while. All my family lives out there.”
The actor was best known for playing Fezco O’Neill in HBO’s hit drama Euphoria, which premiered in 2019.
Since the news of his death broke, a host of his cast mates have posted heartbreaking tributes to him on social media.
The cast mates were close friends off-camera, and regularly shared photos together on online.
Angus had no prior acting experience before he was cast in Euphoria.
The 25-year-old was working at a chicken-and-waffles restaurant in Brooklyn, New York, when he was scouted by casting agent Jennifer Venditti.
During a previous interview with GQ, the actor admitted his character Fez was originally supposed to die in the first season.
But the show’s creator Sam Levinson changed his mind after watching Angus perform in the role.
Angus presumed because he didn’t have any acting experience, his character wasn’t supposed to last very long on the show.
He said: “I don’t know, but apparently, because they cast me off the street, I guess the character of Fezco was [never meant to stick around]. I don’t even know how. I never saw that script. No one ever told me.”
Angus only found out his character was supposed to die from co-star Jacob Elordi, who plays Nate Jacobs in the show.
He said: “It was one day when we were filming the pilot that I think Jacob told me, he was like, ‘Oh yeah, you didn’t know? Your character gets [imitates brains getting blown out].’”
“And yeah, it never ended up happening. I think that they liked what I did and so they decided to keep me alive and let me rock.”
