Jacob Elordi has shared a funny anecdote about why “Euphoria” creator and director Sam Levinson brought him back for the show’s third installment.
The actor joked that Levinson made the decision simply to “torture” him, referring to the treatment his character, Nate Jacobs, receives at the hands of the ruthless antagonist Naz.
Elordi’s time on “Euphoria” may have come to an end, but the actor still vividly remembers how bizarre his character’s final chapter became.
Throughout much of Season 3, Nate endured a series of brutal ordeals at the hands of creditor Naz, including beatings, having his pinkie toe severed and, at one point, being buried alive in a coffin.
Reflecting on everything his character went through, Elordi recently joked that being “tortured” was the reason Levinson brought him back for the show’s third season.
“I think Sam [Levinson] brought me back to torture me,” Elordi said on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to guest host and “Euphoria” costar Colman Domingo. “It was like, six weeks of me just getting beat by a seven-foot guy. I was just running the whole time.”
Elordi Spent ‘Two Days’ Trapped Inside A Coffin
Among the ordeals, being locked inside the coffin appeared to be the toughest for Elordi, given the length of time he had to spend in the confined space.
“I got locked in a coffin for two days straight with prosthetics and a fake tongue, and I couldn’t see out of my eyes,” Elordi told Domingo.
At one point during filming, Levinson even added a snake to the coffin for the sequence leading up to Nate’s gruesome death.
In the scene, the snake slithered down the breathing tube Naz had given Nate before delivering a fatal bite, sealing his fate before anyone could find and rescue him.
Jacob Elordi Says His Snake Co-star Was Like A Puppy
While such a scene would typically be challenging for an actor, Elordi said he was completely comfortable sharing the coffin with the snake.
“He had a very nice personality. He was very docile and very sleepy,” Elordi said of the snake. “I don’t think he’d had a lot of sun.”
He ended up repeatedly nudging the snake in an effort to make it more active, as the scene required the animal to appear menacing. However, it seemed completely uninterested in cooperating. “He was like a little dog,” Elordi also recalled. “He just kept curling up at my feet. He’d drop down the tube, and then he’d sort of slither down and then he’d find a little warm spot.”
The Actor Calls Nate Jacobs’ Death A ‘Cool Way To Go’
In an HBO behind-the-scenes video, Elordi reflected on his character’s death, calling it a “cool way to go.”
“Nate is somebody who’s made so many mistakes and so many dark choices; it’s cool to see it all come to what it’s come to,” the actor added.
“I had to go into this coffin, my shoulders were touching the side, and I couldn’t move my arms, and then they would drill the lid on, and it would get dark,” he continued.
In the clip, Elordi also admitted he had mixed feelings about “Euphoria” coming to an end, especially considering how much the series has helped shape his career.
“It’s a bittersweet thing. This show is a massive part of not just my career, but my life. It’s been amazing, and I’m so proud being a part of this,” he noted.
Sam Levinson Praises Jacob Elordi For Embracing Snake Scene
Speaking about the scene, Levinson gave Elordi “enormous credit” for embracing the creative decision despite how bizarre it was.
In a previous interview with Esquire, Levinson also defended his choice to give Nate such an unconventional death. He said the ending aligned with what he believed was the most satisfying form of karma for the character, offering fans the reckoning they had long hoped to see following Nate’s actions throughout the previous seasons.
“There’s this kind of funny thing where I know what the audience wants in terms of justice or karma,” he told the outlet, “and with that in mind, I always think, ‘Well, how can I give it to them? How can I give them what they want, but make it so horrific and anxiety-inducing that by the time it happens, the audience isn’t so sure they wanted it?’”