Singer/songwriter Dominic Fike began a foray into acting when he took the role of troubled teen Elliot in the second season of HBO’s controversial teen drama series Euphoria. During a recent interview with Apple Music to promote his new album Sunburn, Fike revealed that the character hit closer to home than many audiences may have initially thought.
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“I was a drug addict, and coming onto a show mainly about drugs is very difficult,” Fike told Apple Music. He explained to the outlet that he is now sober.
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Fike began filming Euphoria in Spring 2021, and around the same time, informed GQ that he was sober. Now, Fike is revealing that that was not the case. He told Apple Music that he was using drugs on the show’s set, and was almost fired because of it.
“Sam [Levinson], the director [and] writer, he got me a sober coach, somebody to be there all the time,” he told the outlet. “Did not work.”
“I was so f—ed up during a lot of that show,” Fike continued.”It was really bad, but I was reprimanded for it. I almost got kicked off the show.” Fike also stated that scenes filmed while he was under the influence ended up being used in the season’s final edit. “Yeah, that’s entertainment dude,” Fike added. “They give you a bunch of money and they’re like, ‘Yeah, figure it out bud. Sink or swim.'”
During a 2022 interview with GQ, Fike recalled that he was high on psilocybin during a screen test with Barbie Ferreira, who played Kat on Euphoria. “I started peaking right when me and Barbie were reading,” he told the outlet. “I was heavily addicted to so many drugs. Trying to make a f–––ing album in the midst of that much pressure, the drugs, my family being insane, and me being insane, was impossible.”
While speaking to the Los Angeles Times about Sunburn, out now, Fike revealed more about his experience filming Euphoria. “I’m not an actor,” he said. “It was more that I just had good scene partners. The first time I’d ever acted was in front of those people.
“I’m just watching Zendaya and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I could do that,’” Fike added. “And I think I’m a little bit looser on drugs, so maybe I wasn’t afraid to do it. Maybe I would have done better off drugs. Maybe not.”
(Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
