Marshawn Lynch is heading into HBO’s “Euphoria” for Season 3, and his first reaction to the show’s opening scene was blunt: “oh sh-t, I might not be old enough to watch this.” The former NFL running back said the first episode left him asking, “Do I need to ask my mom and get my permission slip signed? Because oh, boy, that’s some wild a– sh-t!”
Lynch was talking about the role while promoting his partnership with Candy Crush for the All Stars 2026 tournament, which wrapped April 8 after players around the world competed for a $1 million prize pool. He said the game helped him during his twelve-season NFL career because he would play it in meetings so he would not fall asleep, adding that it “made me actually pay attention.”
Season 3 of “Euphoria” returns April 12 at 9 p.m. on HBO, and Lynch said he was part of Zendaya’s plot line. Sam Levinson reached out to him about the opportunity, and Lynch said he wanted to show support to his town folks because Zendaya and the late Angus Cloud were also from Oakland. Cloud died at 25 of an overdose in 2023.
Lynch has been leaning into acting for a while. He played a teacher in the 2023 high school comedy “Bottoms,” and he said the new HBO role was a chance to stay himself while still fitting into the show’s world. “Let’s just say I had fun in that motherf–ker,” he said, while also making clear he wanted the other actors to take him seriously.
That balance mattered to him on set. “I was trying to hold my own,” Lynch said, “trying not to be the motherf–cker that they’re waiting on to get your sh-t together.” He said he wanted viewers to see that he could work in the scene without becoming the caricature they expected, even as he joked that people might assume “oh, he just came from playing sports.”
Behind the TV cameo is a bigger point about what Lynch has kept building away from football. He said his Fam 1st Family Foundation has existed since 2011 and helps local youth, and he described that community work as approaching 20 years. “We’re going into 20 years of giving back to the community. So that’s probably the most fulfilling thing that I have going on. That’s probably where my heart is,” he said.
The timing gives Lynch a rare overlap: a major HBO debut, a gaming partnership tied to a global competition, and a return to the kind of public spotlight he once owned on Sundays. The answer to whether he fits “Euphoria” is already in his own words — he had fun, wanted to be taken seriously, and still sounded exactly like Marshawn Lynch.