The cast members of Euphoria are no strangers to filming nude(ish) scenes. Sydney Sweeney has bared all on more than one occasion, while Eric Dane has performed full monologues with a certain prosthetic body part on full display. Jacob Elordi, the native Aussie who plays Nate, is no exception to the rule - although for him, it’s apparently akin to stripping down at a family barbeque.
In an interview on The Ellen Show, Jacob Elordi talked about how it feels to actually shoot all of those nude scenes on Euphoria. For him, it’s all part of the process tied to starring on the HBO hit, and . He said:
Well, I think on Euphoria it comes with the territory of the character. So I’m kind, you know, he’s this ultra-masculine macho jock. Those guys, I think, tend to go around pretty shirtless, so it's sort of OK.
While some of the nudity on Euphoria definitely goes far beyond a simple shirtless scene, Jacob Elordi has a point. As anyone who went to high school in America can attest, it’s not really a walk home from class until you’ve been nearly run over by a herd of shirtless cross-country team members. Consider that Nate is the star quarterback of East Highland High School, and it’s hardly shocking that creator/writer Sam Levinson would throw in a few moments here and there where Nate divests himself of a top layer.
When it comes to the steamy bits, however, there’s a touch more effort involved. Euphoria makes regular use of an intimacy coordinator, a member of the crew who’s specifically trained to navigate the logistics of filming such sensitive scenes for features, television, and stage productions. According to Jacob Elordi, it’s like having a parent on set:
We have an intimacy coordinator ... She's like a second mother. She's like, 'Are you comfortable? Are you OK?' To the point where you're like, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm fine.'
The filial comparisons don’t stop there. If the intimacy coordinator is a mom, then the other members of the crew are the extended relatives. The only difference? Most people don’t necessarily start shedding their clothing at a family reunion. Jacob Elordi explained:
The crew has been the same from the first season to the second season, so it’s kinda - [laughs] it’s like getting naked in front of your family, which is weird.
Getting naked in front of family members is a mental picture that no one wants stamped in their brain, least of all the show's younger demographic. But in the case of filming a TV show, it’s far better to be surrounded by people that the actors feel comfortable with. It also probably helps if one happens to look like Jacob Elordi, but we can’t all be 6’5” Australian Adonises, I guess. So let’s leave the nudity to Nate, everyone’s favorite “sweet, lovable, relatable, giant, 18-year-old psychopath."
Season 2 of Euphoria has officially ended, but you can relive the drama of the first two seasons with your HBO Max subscription, or maybe find a new favorite that deals with the same themes. Got more time to devote to new shows? Check out these upcoming TV releases to discover your next obsession.
