‘Euphoria’: Jacob Elordi on Sam Levinson: ‘I Work Myself to the Bone for Him’
Sam Levinson certainly has some fans at HBO. The writer, creator, and showrunner has created one of the network’s most-watched shows of all time with Euphoria. For the show, Levinson has access to massive budgets, copious amounts of time, and complete creative freedom. And while cast members like Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, and Sydney Sweeney, have championed the director, he’s received his fair share of criticism.
‘Euphoria’ creator Sam Levinson has faced criticism for his long set days
Levinson has received criticism for the way in which he runs his set. Background actors and members of the main cast have shared that the showrunner often shows up without a shot list. Instead, he usually dreams up shots on the spot. The writer has even admitted to writing lines of dialogue on the fly and yelling it out to his actors. This can make for super long days on the set of Euphoria, ranging from 12-18 hours.
Jacob Elordi recalls filming the party scene in the ‘Euphoria’ Season 2 premiere
One scene that took an exorbitant amount of time to shoot was the party scene in the season 2 premiere. In an interview with Thrillist, Elordi talked about how intense Euphoria’s New Year’s Eve scene was. “We shot that party for over a week, so very quickly it’s like being in hell,” Elordi explained. “It’s like being in a party that you don’t want to be in. At all. And you can’t wait [to leave].”
But even though Elordi couldn’t wait to be done with the party scene, he seems to love working on Euphoria’s set. The Kissing Booth alum seems to have a bit of a masochist streak when it comes to his acting approach. In a separate interview with GQ, the Aussie shared that portraying Nate Jacobs is indeed a challenge, but one that he relishes.
‘The Kissing Booth’ alum works himself to the bone for Levinson
“For me, working on that set is an absolute treat,” Elordi shared about Euphoria. “When I’m working with Sam, I’m in the trenches with him, and I trust him, and I work myself to the bone for him. I think I’ve read people saying, ‘Look, that’s a bad image to set; you shouldn’t have to work yourself to the bone for art.’ F*** that. I enjoy it.”
Elordi defends the long hours on ‘Euphoria’
Continuing on, Elordi shared that the long shoot days are what contribute to the show’s popularity. According to the actor, some of Euphoria‘s most memorable shots are those that take hours, or even days, to nail. “What everyone’s seeing on television, the shots that people are talking about, the feelings that they get, the conversation that’s around the show, that’s because certain shots take 30-something takes.”
Clearly, Elordi doesn’t seem to mind the grueling amount of hours that he has to put in for Euphoria. We’re sure his fans are interested in seeing where Levinson decides to take his character next. But since the show takes so long to film, fans shouldn’t expect season 3 anytime soon.
