Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Shares Insights on Crafting Alamo Brown in Euphoria Season 3

From the moment that Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje first appeared onscreen as Alamo Brown during Euphoria Season 3, he took the show by storm. Now the beloved actor from iconic shows like Lost and Oz has exclusively told Men's Journal about how he brought the series' breakout villain to life.

Akinnuoye-Agbaje shares the intricate decisions that helped define the character and how his playful relationship with Sam Levinson set him free. He also reveals the fascinating process that led to his character's highly memorable final confrontation with Colman Domingo. Finally, he compares Alamo Brown to one of his most memorable characters, Simon Adebisi from Oz, and even addresses how he kept that hat on the side of his head.

How Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Created Alamo Brown's Deliberate, Grounding Pace and the Power of Extreme Close-Ups

Men's Journal: Many members of the Euphoria cast are known for frenetic, spiraling moments. When your character, Alamo Brown, appears, the entire pace slows down, and everyone has to lean in to meet him at his level. Was that a conscious choice on your part, or were you reacting to the other characters?

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: I think it's a combination of things. It's such a well-crafted character that Sam Levinson created. So, some of that was paced out to a degree, but also, it's always going to be the performance that kind of grounds it. I think it was definitely our intention to ground him in reality.

When I spoke with Sam about coming on board, he shared some of his influences and inspirations for season three of Euphoria with me, which were really heavily based around the western iconography and characters. Jim Brown, Woody Strode, Eli Wallach. What we wanted to do in this season with Alamo Brown was have a charismatic and larger-than-life character while still really grounding him in a gritty reality.

We wanted to bring a level of gravitas to him that these kids would be shook by when they entered his world. That was conscious. I also think the fact that he smokes affected that because that distills everything and made his manner of speaking measured and slower. That just slows down the pace because, rarely, did you necessarily see him speaking fast except when he was angry.

His speaking was also measured because he was always discerning people. He was watching them, reading them, seeing who they were and how useful they were to him. I think that's probably one of the reasons you felt the pace distill when you meet him and during scenes with him.

Men's Journal: I loved that aspect of his character. He felt like the king of his own fiefdom, constantly watching people and deciding whether to be benevolent and merciful or vengeful and vindictive, and everything in between. When you were portraying those moments in gorgeous close-ups, did you put a lot of thought into every micro-expression? The slightest change seemed to mean so much.



Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: Sam and I had an extensive dialogue about how he was going to shoot scenes. Number one, we were shooting on film that was especially curated for the show. 65 millimeter, 135 millimeter. Also, as I said, because it was influenced by Sergio Leone's cinematography style, I knew that there were going to be extreme close-ups. I knew that Sam was going to be distilling the camera on you with no dialogue, just to see how the character emotes and draws the audience into his mind. That's very Sergio or John Ford. Sam had given me that heads up.

Before scenes, Sam would say things like, "This is where the cameras are going to be, and I'm going to let it sit there." I love that he's not afraid to let the scene be quiet. A lot of the time, when you're doing a scene, and there are pauses, a director might say, "Pick it up." But Sam was never like that. He allowed the pregnant pauses to exist. That allowed me to take my own pace which was really, really refreshing. It allowed me to sit back in the character. He really enjoys those moments where the character is pensive, thinking, processing, and listening to the dialogue that your scene partner is saying. Those are the moments that draw in the audience. And I love that.

It was particularly important because you knew that it was going to be extreme close-up or very, very slow push-ins. So, you had to emote. So, those expressions were conscious, but you always want to be present instead of thinking about it. When you're immersed in the character, things can happen naturally because you know the style that he's going to shoot in.

Sam is very, very meticulous about the stylistic movement of things like the hat being down at a specific angle and where the eyes are going to be. He'd make sure the eyes would be just below the brim of the hat. He was very, very particular about how Alamo would be seen in the scene. There was almost a dialogue in how Alamo moved, how he kept his head down, and then when the hat was coming up, or how he was speaking dialogue with his head down the whole time, and only bringing it up at a certain point. We discussed all of that, and we played with that a lot, particularly in the end sequence as well, with Ali.

Sam Levinson's 'Playground'

Men's Journal: It's interesting to me that you said the word play because that was something I wanted to ask you about. Even though those moments where they were really framed out and you knew what you were going to try to get across, were you still able to have a lot of fun when you were playing this character? Did that become easier when you recognized that he was going to give you the freedom as an actor?

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: I think the filming process was one of the most rewarding things that I have taken away from this experience, even though some of the scenes drove me to uncomfortable places. Also, because I had to adopt an accent that is so far removed from myself, challenging in certain sequences, especially when I had to speak fast while I still had to keep that accent. But Sam just gave me complete license to just relax in there. It really came down to how he directed me and allowed me to just live in the scene.

I remember one scene was quite tricky to get. It really was. It was a simple scene. Funny enough, they're always the most difficult. It was a simple sequence after Rue had killed my best worker by administering a laced drug. I was grappling with what the reaction would be when Sam whispered in my ear, ‘We're just here to play. You're totally free to play." He said to me, "This is your playground."

That just allowed me to exhale, and it elicited the most natural performance. That's when you get Alamo clicking the rings and just playing with the role. I would throw different things out, and Sam had the option of what to use. It was a delightful collaborative process of playing. He said, "This is your playground." And he protected us. He created a space for us to really play, especially in uncomfortable places.

The Mother Trauma That Shaped Alamo's Emotional Arc and Finale

Men's Journal: That's awesome to hear. One of the most powerful parts of the season focused on your character, but you weren't actually a part of it. That was when they showed Alamo's backstory. That was such a powerful episode, and it gave your character so much more nuance. How much did you know about the backstory when you were performing as the character? Were you able to see that episode while you were still filming the show? How did you react when you saw the episode?

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: First of all, I was aware of Alamo's backstory, and it actually was one of the reasons I was excited to play the character because, as you said, it just gave him nuance, layers, and texture. It humanized him and made viewers have empathy for him, whether they liked or disliked him. So that was important.

In terms of the chronology of shooting and whether I saw any of it during filming, no. I'd actually shot all of my stuff before I was aware of who was going to play my mother, the wonderful Danielle Deadwyler. I did not meet her until after we finished shooting. So that was interesting.

When I saw the episode, I was like you, I was enamored and blown away because of things like the incredibly, incredibly beautiful aesthetic and the meticulous detail. I said to Sam, "I want to be in that movie. You know what I mean? It was just so beautifully shot by Marcell Rév and so beautifully directed and enacted by the actors.

The actor who played young Alamo Brown, Ca'Ron Jaden Coleman, could emote with his eyes. He drew you in and opened your heart, which really helped viewers understand Alamo. I was really impressed. You know, a lot of the time, when you're directing, casting the right person is almost 80 percent. The young boy was phenomenal because he didn't have to say anything to open your heart. What that did for me was brilliant.

Because I was aware of the backstory in the script, I embraced that. There is a brooch that Alamo wears in the finale. It was pinned to his gold suit. That brooch is what his mother gave him. So, I wore that intentionally. And the self-reflection and epiphany in the finale were a reflection of the catalyst that made him who he was, which really was his primary relationship with his mother. When he's sitting there and watching all of these guys celebrate the victories over Laurie, the D.A., and getting rid of Rue, he's thinking about those things.



The connection and trauma with his mother played into that moment of reflection during the finale. Alamo wanted to go back and have a happy family behind a picket fence, because his mother shattered that. He said, "This is all I really want." Yeah. The backstory very much played into that part of the ending. It played an integral part, to be honest, in how I paced out Alamo's emotional arc. Of course, the silver slipper was also a homage to his mother. The first time we see Danielle Deadwyler as the mother, Alamo is watching her put on a silk stocking on the same leg that the silver slipper is on as an homage to his mother.

The influence of that primary relationship plays out throughout his life. Most of all in the fact that he did not want any woman to outsmart him. That came from his mother and really inspired part of his sadistic retribution against Rue. Not just the fact that she betrayed him, but that she is a woman who's trying to outsmart him with the D.A. So I think that triggered his trauma with his mother.

All of those elements were subtext, but they definitely played into the emotional journey of Alamo.

Men's Journal: Speaking of the finale, I have to ask about your big scene with Coleman Domingo's Ali. It was amazing watching two powerhouse actors together. Throughout the rest of the season, Alamo was always in a position of power, but in that confrontation, we see him under siege for the first time while still staying controlled. How did working opposite such an incredible performance change your approach to portraying Alamo in that moment?

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: It's interesting because Sam and I really talked about that a lot, and the finale went through various iterations before it became the one that viewers saw in the finale. What was important for me was that number one, there was the reflective moment, which Sam had written in with the epiphany.

Sam had built up this character to be larger than life. Let's not forget that he'd gone out there to face Naz without backup. That should tell you something about the kind of man he is. He's absolutely fearless. He is an expert marksman, and he's a ruthless killer. So, even though he's going to be confronted in his own domain, his empire, he's not going to cower.

Sam actually constructed the scene around that logic after we had discussions because I said, "This guy would not just cower. This is his empire, and somebody's calling out his name. I think he would smash that window and come out." Sam loved it and that's what we ended up doing.

I think that what is really interesting about that sequence is in one moment, he's having this beautifully vulnerable and emotional moment with Alexa Demie's character, Maddy, where he's professing his love and has a sincere desire to have a family with her. Then, the next moment, he's using her as a human shield against Ali and throwing her out the window. In those two scenarios, you see the complexity of this man. Yes, he's emotional. But at the end of the day, when push comes to shove, he's thinking about himself as a survivor.

In terms of your question about it changing how I played Alamo knowing that there was a perceived threat from you Ali, I think there was this level of anger there which was like, "How dare you come into my empire and challenge me?" Alamo was going to dispense with Ali. But, when he gets out there and he hears that Ali's been sent by Rue, I think what we're seeing there is Alamo's last stand because his back is up against the wall to a degree. He comes out and he sees that one of his trusted right-hand men is dead. That's G, Marshawn Lynch's character. He's splattered there with his scrotum blown off.

That tells him Ali is a threat. Then this man has been sent from Rue, and this is happening in public, so all eyes are on him. There's a moment of desperation there. But, let's be clear, Alamo is never going to show that. He's trying to hold it down, but he's like a swan. He's elegantly surfing on the water, but underneath his legs are kicking like mad. He's like, "What do I do here? Let me orchestrate this so I can get out. How about the bottle? Kitty, get over here and roll that. This is what's going to happen and what I'm going to say." Then he's going to figure his way out because he's going to cheat and he's going shoot because at the end of the day, he's got to end this guy by any means possible.

So there's a level of undertone desperation there. This is his last stand, and these guys don't help him. I think he died before that bullet hit him because of the level of betrayal and from who it came. Sam wanted this to be the John Ford or Sergio Leone-Weston duel shootout, with the close-ups, the theatrical operatic way it played out, and the dialogue and banter there. That was all Alamo playing for time so he could try to figure out, "How am I going to get out of this?" I think the way I played it was with that undertone of desperation. You had that explosive moment where he smashed the window and was like, "What the F is going on here?" But, then it was about, "Okay, this guy's serious now. How do I get out of this."

How Simon Adebisi's Hat From Oz Never Fell Off Explained

Men's Journal: On a different note, I am a gigantic Oz fan. I have watched that show multiple times over my life. For that reason, I would never forgive myself if I didn't ask you about a topic that I know you've been asked before. The hat.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: (Laughs)

Men's Journal: I know you've talked about this. I've looked it up probably 20 times in my life, because, as I said, I've watched the show several times.



Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: Are you kidding me? Of all the things Adebisi did, that's the takeaway that people have.

Men's Journal: It's not my takeaway, but I have looked it up several times.



Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: Unbelievable.



Men's Journal: I would never forgive myself if I didn't take this opportunity to talk to you about it directly. There has to have been something other than it just stuck on the side of your head. How did that stay on the side of your head for so many years.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: Gravity baby. (Laughs) You know you know what's funny? When I was a teenager coming up, some of the kids on the street, one in particular, used to have his hat in a certain way. The tilt, in the gangster world, defined how bad you were. Even Cagney had a tilt. The further the tilt, the badder you were. So, Simon Adebis had that tilt all the way on the corner. If you could keep it there and handle business, you were the baddest cat.

I used to wear it like that as a teenager, and I just put it on like that while we were shooting. They didn't want it on like that, but it was too late. It was already in the shot, and we didn't have time to reshoot it. So, it became a staple thing.

In terms of how it stayed there, it was literally gravity. You'll notice I was bald-headed at the time. There's a bristle that comes through from that, and it acted as an adhesive. There were no tricks and no gimmicks. It just stuck there right on the corner, clinging to the bristles of my bald head.

Men's Journal: Is there any truth to the claim that has been out there you let a little bit of hair grow out a little bit longer in that spot to get it stuck on there? Is there any truth to that?

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: Nope. I would shave my head and stick it on, and it would stay on whether I had a little bit of hair or no hair. The less hair you had, the more it would stick.

Oz's Adebisi and Euphoria's Alamo Brown: Through-Lines in Adewale's Iconic Roles

Men's Journal: On a more serious note, contrasting your performances as Adebisi and Alamo, I think, is an incredible indication of why you are an amazing performer and one of my favorite actors of all time.



Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: Oh, man. Thank you.



Men's Journal: You're welcome. With Alamo and your character from Lost, Mr. Eko, those characters have that same calm quality. For example, during episodes of Lost, Jack and Kate could be frantically running through the forest as craziness is going on. Then the show could cut to Mr. Eko standing his ground like a rock as he contemplates his next move. On the other end of the spectrum, you have Adebisi from Oz.



Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: (Laughs)



Men's Journal: While he could be calm occasionally, he generally was much more chaotic. When you compare those two characters, do you see through-lines between the two of them even though you portrayed them in such dramatically different ways?



Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: First of all, logistically speaking, there's a through line between them, and that is that one of the executive producers of Oz was Barry Levinson, along with Tom Fontana and Jim Finnerty. Barry is the father of Euphoria's creator, Sam Levinson. So, creatively, there's a through line there because both Sam and Barry are relentless in making the creative space a safe space for actors to do their best work, and that's why you see these two performances.

On a creative level, let's look at it. Adebisi was an addict. That explains why he was so frenetic and erratic. But Adebisi and Alamo are two men who live and die by their code. There's something that you can respect about that, whether you like or agree with it. They will stand ten toes down their path, which was a criminal path. I think that's the creative through line.

Alamo Brown is far more organized. He's got his s**t together, and we can see that Adebisi didn't. That's why he ended up behind bars for life after life. But there's a ruthlessness to them and a fearlessness to them. Also, as you said, they both have the gravitas of people who are almost kings within their own arenas, their own empires.

Alamo's arena was his strip club empire. Let's be honest, Emerald City from Oz was Adebisi's empire. They run their empires, and there was a respect and fear of them in the way that they ran it. So, I think there's also a through line there. I think that's it. These guys chart their own course, and then they stick with it. They're not followers. They're leaders, good or bad.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 6:04 AM.