Euphoria is the show that everyone simply can’t stop talking about — and for good reason. Since its spellbinding debut, this dark and gritty coming-of-age tale has captivated audiences all over the world.
Below is a list of 15 behind-the-scenes secrets about Euphoria that every true fan should know. So buckle up and discover all the things you thought you knew about what is arguably one of the greatest and most impactful teen dramas of all time.
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Barbie Ferreira isn’t smoking a real Juul on set.
Barbie’s character Kat Hernandez is often depicted smoking away on her e-cigarette. According to an interview Barbie gave with DazedDigital, all the Juul pods fans see Kat smoking are props made specifically for the scene.
‘Euphoria’ was Hunter Schafer’s first acting gig.
It sounds incredibly hard to believe, considering how commanding she is on screen, but it’s true! Before being cast as Jules Vaughn, Hunter had no acting credits to her name and was working mostly as a model.
Leonardo DiCaprio is a huge fan of the show.
Leonardo DiCaprio is a huge fan of Euphoria. When the cast found out, they couldn’t stop talking about it in their communal group chat . Not long after, co-star Barbie Ferreira (who plays Kat) decided to get t-shirts made for the whole crew, emblazoned with Leo’s quote.
Showrunners had to ask a special favor of Kodak for Season 2.
“There’s a stock called Ektachrome, which Kodak stopped manufacturing in 35mm in the 2000s I think,” cinematographer Marcell Rév explained to The Wrap. “And we convinced Kodak to manufacture a couple thousand rolls for us .”
Sam Levinson had a vision board for Rue and Zendaya was on it.
Zendaya was in such disbelief that she forced Levinson to show her the board so that she could see it for herself. She told Entertainment Weekly that she had no idea what it was that made Sam trust her so much, only that she was glad that he did.
One of the most riveting and emotional scenes of the who series was completely improvised by Zendaya.
For the fight scene between Rue and her mother, Sam Levinson wanted the actresses to go at each other like wild dogs. Zendaya said the whole thing was so out-of-character for her personally, that she felt as if she might vomit.
Jacob Elordi, who plays Nate, literally had nothing before landing his spot on ‘Euphoria’.
According to an interview that Jacob did with JustJared , he was flat broke at the time of his audition. Jacob also said that he was practically homeless and that he even forgot his lines during the audition.
Sydney Sweeney actually created a diary for the character of Cassie.
In an interview with MTV, Sydney explained that she does this for every role she takes on. She said that Cassie’s diary, in particular, was incredibly dramatic and artsy.
The carnival scene was grueling for everyone involved.
According to Sam Levin’s interview with Collider, “That entire carnival was 125,000 square feet, and we had rides everywhere. We just assembled it to fit our shots, our camera, and the actors. It was freezing cold, it was dusty, it was horrible, and we shot it in six days .”
‘Euphoria’ is actually a remake of a previously released Israeli series.
The US version of Euphoria was written and created by Sam Levinson. The original series aired on Israeli television back in 2012, but only ran for a single season .
The production created an anti-gravity room for Rue’s (Zendaya) rotating hallway scene.
The team built a room that would rotate 360 degrees. The camera kept Rue in the frame, while the room began to rotate around her. In order to prevent any of the other actors from falling, production strapped them to the ground.
Barbie Ferreira’s reaction to seeing the “micropenis” on screen was 100% genuine.
Barbie told Entertainment Weekly that “They explained to me what I was doing, they asked me if I was comfortable with it. I’m not skeeved out by a micropenis prosthetic, like my reaction in that scene is what really happened. I was laughing .”
Creator Sam Levinson drew on his own experiences when writing ‘Euphoria’.
During a panel discussion with the cast and crew, Sam admitted that much of what fans see is true and actually happened. He himself was a drug addict for years and still battles with depression and mental health issues.
The makeup each character wears has a special significance.
Makeup artist Doniella Davy said that she was inspired by the real-world makeup of Gen Z high school students. She explained that each character’s makeup tells an emotional story and that if you pay attention you can even discern potential plot points.
Tom Holland visited the set of ‘Euphoria’ no less than 30 times.
Tom would make regular appearances to visit Zendaya and has mentioned on more than one occasion how he’d like to have a cameo appearance. It seems unlikely that Disney would allow Spider-Man to do such a thing, but there’s always hope!
