But it’s not just her perspective that makes Schafer seem to want to steer the conversation toward her latest work. It’s the sense that the making of Euphoria has been an all-consuming, high-stakes, intense experience for her (not unlike teenage life itself). When I speak with her, she is just coming off a two-week break from filming the final episodes of the show’s first season, and she says she’s been in “a moment of decompressing and letting that part of my life go.” Not that she has been slacking off. It’s hard to tell exactly how she’s been spending her days, but it sounds as though there have been some projects in the works. “It’s cool how to see how my creative juices have shown themselves when they’re not being used for Euphoria every day,” she says, speaking from L.A., where she’s currently living. “I’m trying to find a new rhythm as to how I’m going to externalize my artistic energies. It’s a moment of re-formation.”

But before the re-formation, though, comes the formation: a sharp-yet-tender performance that becomes something like the shining light at the center of the increasingly dark world that Euphoria depicts. “I’d never known anyone like Jules before,” comments the character of Rue, played by Zendaya, the narrator and protagonist of the show. If Jules is a beacon, Rue is a dark pit, her trajectory toward self-annihilation seeming to know no impediment. Schafer is captivating in the role not because she’s a purely sunny antidote to the depravity and confusion surrounding her, but because she’s sometimes subject to that confusion (and violence) herself, and she still looks at life as an optimist and romantic.

I spoke with Schafer about the show, the controversial reaction its extremes have elicited, and what it’s like to portray a nuanced trans character in popular culture.

So what kind of creative work are you most interested in now that you’re not working on the show anymore?

I’m interested in everything. If I had enough time on this earth, I’d like to learn every art practice. But recently, of course, I’ve been transfixed with acting. Ever since I can remember, I drew, and visual arts have been my main way to express myself. I like dancing, although I’ve never done that very seriously. It’s something I’d like to explore more. I almost went to Central Saint Martins for fashion design. I deferred for a year when I graduated high school so that I could go model and make some money and immerse myself in the fashion industry for a year. I needed a break from school. But I was set to go there until this role came up and turned my whole life upside down. I don’t think I even told them I wasn’t coming.