Meet the men of ‘Euphoria,’ including Fil-Am Dominic Fike

Like its lead star Zendaya, HBO’s critically acclaimed series “Euphoria” is on a roll. According to Variety, Season 2 of the gritty eight-part drama about troubled teenagers, which just aired its penultimate episode at 11 p.m. last Monday on HBO and HBO Go, has almost doubled its per-episode viewership average compared to Season 1.

In the United States, “Euphoria’s” ratings continued to surge and soar, even when it was telecast opposite the Super Bowl LVI show—and, given conventional viewership patterns, that’s no easy feat.

This week, we have a treat for “Euphoria” fans: Snippets of our chats with the terrific men who keep the show’s female followers glued to their TV or PC screens.

The lineup includes Jacob Elordi (who plays East Highland school’s troubled dreamboat Nate Jacobs), Eric Dane (Nate’s strict and secretive father Cal), Angus Cloud (Rue’s drug-peddling pal Fezco), Austin Abrams (Kat’s boyfriend Ethan Daley), Colman Domingo (Rue’s Narcotics Anonymous sponsor Ali) and the season’s exciting new addition Fil-Am actor Dominic Fike (Elliot).

We were doubly interested in Dominic, not only because of his Pinoy roots, but also because the 26-year-old Florida-born newbie is the one who figures in an intriguing romantic triangle with Zendaya’s Rue Bennett and Hunter Schafer’s trans girl character Jules Vaughn.

More than that, Dominic is currently one of the music biz’s most exciting singer-songwriters (“3 Nights”): He wasn’t just featured in Justin Bieber’s “Die for You,” he was also asked by Paul McCartney to cover “The Kiss of Venus” for the ex-Beatle’s 2021 remix album “McCartney III Imagined.”

Our Q&A with “Euphoria’s” fabulous men:

JACOB ELORDI

Was it more challenging for you to prepare mentally or physically to play Nate well?

I would say it was tougher this time to play Nate mentally, because his physicality is already ingrained in my body from the first season. It’s just remembering little ways of working and stuff like that. Season 2 is just unpacking a lot more of the first season, so you just build on it and dive into it.

At the beginning of Season 2, we see both Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) and Maddy (Alexa Demie) very much lusting after Nate, yet he’s still deeply unhappy within himself. What does he want? Do you think he can ever strike that happiness within his life, or is he a lost cause?

I think it would take a pretty serious reparation from his father [for Nate to find a measure of that]. But even then, he’s been scarred from such a young age. I’m not sure if it would ever entirely go away. But yeah, maybe some form of love or affection or his dad explicitly telling him and explaining why he feels that way.

What has been the most challenging thing for you to play this role?

Staying still. I’m very, very fidgety, but Nate doesn’t move very much. So, keeping my hands and face still and my body rigid was quite difficult.

DOMINIC FIKE

This show has been called the first Generation Z show made by HBO. Since many actors in the cast belong to this group, can you talk about what this season tells us about Gen Z?

What the series says is pretty important. So I hope that even people who aren’t Gen Z watch it and empathize with the kids who are always on their phones, kids who are being sexual and violent and crazy all the time. I’m going to make my mom watch it and see what happens.

Now that you mentioned your [Filipino] mom, I am from the Philippines. Could you talk a little bit about your Pinoy roots?

Wow, that’s awesome! As to my Filipino roots, my mom never told me anything about it. So I had to go try all the food and meet all the people—I had to do it all myself. But I really want to get into it and go over there so bad!

How different is the challenge of making music compared to creating a character?

As far as making music and creating a character are concerned, they’re kind of similar. You find that when you make a song, it is its own little body. You know what I mean? A music video is very short. It’s a small-scale version of what we’re doing on set here. And I feel like that’s the same thing with making a song and creating a character.

I was talking to Sam [Levinson, creator of “Euphoria”] about writing one time, and I was like, “Oh, yeah, I’m a writer, too”—but this was before I read the script. And then I read it, and I was like, “Uh, never mind.” I kind of felt like a d*ck for saying that to him because what he does is like real writing to me.

So they’re the same and, at the same time, they’re two entirely different things. I have so much admiration for people who can create these characters, develop them and then let the actors help them grow.

ERIC DANE

This season, we see Cal’s backstory and find out that the hunky but closeted young Cal (Elias Kacavas) fell in love with his best friend Derek (Henry Eikenberry) in their youth. What was challenging for you to bring Cal to life this time?

Obviously, there was a lot of mental preparation. But physically, Cal was very controlled and contained in the first season. This time, he unravels a lot, so he’s a lot looser physically and more open.

It feels like kids these days indulge in more sex than the generations before them. What kind of portrait of the current generation does “Euphoria” wish to show?

I don’t think we’re all that unique. What we did in our generation was just not as widely covered, and was often done behind closed doors. Some of the circumstances, the trials and tribulations of these characters in 2021 was also happening in 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991 and so on.

I don’t think we’ve done anything that’s so different. It’s all kind of the same. The machinations of sexuality are very binary. And since the beginning of time, everybody’s been doing it the same way. I blame social media for the excessive access to it.

I’ve spoken with you two years ago about playing Cal. But he really unravels in Season 2 with his backstory involving Derek putting his behavior in perspective. How did you relate to his story of heartbreak and regret?

Well, I think everybody my age has a pretty good understanding of heartbreak and regret. There have been lots of moments in my life that I could draw from to play this character. I was just happy that Cal got to be himself this season. And I was really waiting for that to happen.

I knew Cal would have to go through the “trials of Job” to get there, but I was happy with the final product, so to speak. But to answer your question, I have had a cornucopia of situations that I drew from, and that just comes with age and experience—fortunately and unfortunately.

ANGUS CLOUD

This is your very first acting assignment, and it’s already a big project. Can you tell us about how you got the role and how you prepared for it?

Yeah, “Euphoria’s” my first acting job. Some lady from a casting agency had tried to stop me on the street and asked me to come audition. Acting is brand-new to me. I had no idea what I was doing. I had no training and didn’t take acting classes for it.

So, like, I literally just tried to remember the lines, go in there and tried to act the way I thought this person Fezco would act in the situation he’s in. I try to “stay present.” I just imagine that it’s real.

AUSTIN ABRAMS

In terms of character development, how does your character deal with expectations of masculinity this time around?

Ethan goes through a lot of exploration this season. That exploration goes down different avenues and opens up perceptions of what masculinity means within himself.

COLMAN DOMINGO

The show has a lot of great characters for actors to sink their thespic teeth into. But whose story in its ensemble of colorful characters resonated with you the most?

I have a special connection to the Gia character (the younger sister of Rue who feels helpless seeing her beloved sister sink deeper into addiction). Not only does Storm Reid play Gia so beautifully, especially those really frustrating moments where she had to show her love and affection to Rue.

I relate to Gia’s dilemma. I am the middle child in my family, but I had an older brother [and] older sister who suffered from the disease of addiction as well. I was finding myself, putting my own pressure on being the good kid and not being a problem because there were other problems that needed more of my parents’ attention.

My Mom and Pop’s energy was going to the other siblings. It’s not that I didn’t receive the love that I needed—my parents were wonderful. Just the same, you know that a lot of their energy was going toward the ones who were problematic. So, I understand Gia very well. INQ

View comments

TAGS: Entertainment, Euphoria