HBO Max’s show Euphoria hits different when you’re a parent. Watching teens get caught up in a whirlwind of substance abuse, death, and insanely unsafe sexual situations is enough to make parents turn to homeschooling. But when Judd Apatow is watching his baby girl Maude shine as a pivotal actor in the show, well, he is just a “puddle” of emotions.
ET caught up with Apatow on 74th Annual Directors Guild of America Awards red carpet where he gushed about his daughter’s success.
“I’m just in a puddle,” Apatow said of watching Maude play Lexi on the HBO’s series. “I’m just bawling and crying… I’m excited to watch it again, because it was really emotional watching it the first time, because of the show and also because of how amazing she was in it, I thought.”
Currently in its second season, Euphoria has landed a swath of nominations and awards, including Zendaya’s Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. While the who wasn’t being honored at the award ceremony Judd Apatow hosted, it certainly didn’t stop him from plugging his daughter’s incredible series.
The average parent might bristle at some of the plots that surround Maude’s character, but this isn’t Apatow’s first rodeo when it comes to watching Maude act in uncomfortable situations. In fact, between Apatow’s films Knocked Up (2007) and This Is 40 (2012) he even personally directed Maude to do some hilariously mature jokes. In both she starred as Leslie Mann’s daughter, which isn’t a stretch as Mann is her IRL mom and the wife of Apatow.
Maude’s debut may have started directly under the guidance of her father, but she began branching out on her own with minor roles in series HBO’s Girls. It was 2019 when she landed her role as Lexi in Euphoria, in addition to appearing in other films, like playing Pete Davidson’s younger sister in The King of Staten Island in 2020.
Like any dad, Apatow is just happy to see his kid doing something she loves.
“You’re always happy when your kids are doing well and have a job,” Judd noted, adding that he and Mann are just “thrilled” that “she’s doing the things she loves doing and doing an incredible job.”
