Jacob Elordi opened up Tuesday night about the physical toll of filming his character Nate Jacobs’ final season on “Euphoria,” revealing he spent two full days sealed inside a coffin, wearing heavy prosthetics and unable to see, while a live snake shared the space with him.
Speaking on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” alongside guest host and former co-star Colman Domingo, the 29-year-old actor described a season three storyline that saw Nate hunted for weeks by a loan shark and his enforcers after a failed real estate deal, culminating in a death scene combining live burial with a venomous snakebite.
Production used a boa constrictor fitted with a fake rattlesnake tail rather than an actual rattlesnake, and Elordi said the reptile turned out to be far gentler than the scene required, describing it as sleepy and in need of nudging to appear threatening on camera.
The shoot followed weeks of physical punishment for the character, who Elordi said absorbed repeated beatings from a towering antagonist throughout the season. He joked that series creator Sam Levinson seemed intent on putting him through an ordeal, estimating six weeks of near-constant physical sequences.
The timing carried an unplanned layer of realism: Elordi broke both of his heels earlier this year, an injury serious enough to keep him off the jury at the Cannes Film Festival, and he found himself filming Nate’s onscreen mutilation while recovering in a cast and moon boot. He declined to detail how the injury occurred beyond a brief, cryptic reference to jumping off something.
Elordi also reflected on the audience reaction to Nate’s death, noting the shift in tone from years of viewers wishing harm on the character to sudden sympathy once the moment arrived. He needled the studio audience about the change of heart, referencing years of hostile social media commentary directed at his character.
The interview doubled as a wider reflection on how “Euphoria” reshaped his career. Elordi pointed to his recent Oscar nomination for “Frankenstein” and an upcoming lead role in Ridley Scott’s “The Dog Stars,” out August 28, as evidence of how far the show has carried him since it premiered in 2019. Levinson previously told Esquire that Nate’s ending reflected years of destructive choices catching up with the character, a sentiment Elordi echoed by calling the death scene a fitting close to a role that shaped both his career and personal life.
