Becoming a breakout star! Austin Abrams has been making headlines for his role as Ethan Lewis in Euphoria season 2.

The actor may have appeared as the quiet high schooler who dates Kat Hernandez (Barbie Ferreira) in the HBO’s first season, but the character definitely came out of his shell throughout the second season. After Ethan and Kat split, the teen goes on to nab a role in fellow student Lexi Howard’s (Maude Apatow) semi-biographical play, where he appears as multiple roles. During his time on the stage, Ethan made waves with a dance sequence to the song “Holding Out for a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler.

“That’s not something previously that I had done in a long time, with dancing and stuff,” he told Entertainment Tonight in February 2022, noting that he was “terrified” of the dance number at first. “But it was also really exciting. So, it was a combination of those two things.”

The actor went on to explain that Ethan’s role in Lexi’s play “shows that character growth.” Austin added, “It shows him having more of a backbone.”

While Euphoria isn’t Austin’s only acting role thus far, it’s definitely become a breakout moment for the Florida native. During an interview with Coup de Main magazine in December 2019, the Chemical Hearts star revealed that his mom helped jumpstart his career by sending him to an acting camp as a kid.

“It definitely changed my life. I do wonder, if I had never gone there would I have ended up doing this?” he shared. “I’m sure I would have possibly found it in other ways, like school and stuff, but I’m definitely glad. It was a fun camp.”

Austin noted that “everything” from that camp helped him become less of a shy kid. But, despite his career in Hollywood and new life with a notable name, he still steers clear of social media.

“I remember having Facebook when I was 13 and thinking, ‘What am I gonna say?’ I didn’t know what to talk about. Nothing felt important enough to say and put out for a bunch of people to read, and I kept going on there and using my time and looking at all these pictures and I just didn’t understand why I was doing it,” he told the publication. “And also in terms of doing Instagram and stuff, I’m not very interested in showing people my life. Just doing this interview and talking about myself, it’s like a step in that direction, which feels somewhat frightening. And I also feel like it seems to be this mental trap that I’ve seen a lot of people get in, trying to get your likes, and also people think it will get you more work. I suppose it might help get you the work, but once you get the work, you still need to be good … or something.”

Scroll through our gallery for everything you need to know about Austin. 

Love J-14? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for fun, exclusive videos with your favorite stars.