Hunter Schafer says depression was a ‘catalyst’ for her transition
“I was really starting to fade when I was approaching puberty”
Hunter Schafer has shared her journey with depression and how that prompted her transition in a new candid conversation.
The 24-year-old is best known for her spellbinding turn as Jules in HBO’s Euphoria.
Schafer recently spoke in a new interview with artist Viviane Sassen for the Autumn/Winter 2023 issue interview with AnOther.
Schafer shared that depression was one of the “catalysts” for her transition. “I was really starting to fade when I was approaching puberty,” she reflected.
“I think it became obvious to the people around me. Thankfully that was enough to get the help I needed to start transitioning.”
Schafer also continued that depression “never really goes away.”
However, her outlook remains positive: “You just figure out how to live with it, live a life with it. And I’m on meds now, which are great.”
Schafer also spoke about how her career has grown and she’s no longer “just a model.”
With this development, she’s been allowed “more of a personality and some autonomy about how I present myself.”
“I really like to keep it more intuitive – think about shape rather than looking hot or pretty,” she also mused.
Schafer’s career exploded with her appearance on Euphoria and she opened up about being catapulted into that overnight fame.
“Now I’m forced to be the extrovert”
Though the popularity was “a hard adjustment,” Schafer notes that she understands “that fame moves in waves.”
Reflecting on her life pre-fame, Schafer notes that “it was hard making friends.
“I think maybe that’s why visual arts worked better for me in the past, because it’s so solitary and I loved that, that was my comfort zone. Now I’m forced to be the extrovert. It’s communal.”
That desire to create has also manifested in Schafer venturing behind the camera. Recently, she directed the ‘Why Am I Alive Now?’ music video for Anohni.
“I set little goals for myself – this year it was to direct a short film. Another was to write ten outlines for films I want to direct.”
Schafer previously wrote the acclaimed Euphoria episode ‘F**k Anyone Who’s Not a Sea Blob’ which focused on Jules’ transition journey.
The actress will appear in the upcoming The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Based on Suzanne Collins’ novel of the same name, The Hunger Games prequel is set 64 years before the first Hunger Games and will follow the much-hated figure of President Snow in his youth.