Dominic Fike on Why He Was Almost “Kicked Off” ‘Euphoria’: “It Was Really Bad”

Dominic Fike, who played Elliot in Euphoria season two, opened up about his time on set and almost being kicked off the series while filming.

In a conversation with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, the singer-actor got candid about his struggle with drug addiction and how it played out in his breakthrough role on Sam Levinson’s hit HBO series.

“I mean I was a drug addict and coming onto a show mainly about drugs was very difficult,” Fike told Lowe. “Sam, the director and writer, he got me a sober coach, somebody to be there you know all the time. Did not work. I was so fucked up during a lot of that show. It was really bad.”

He explained that his tendency to show up high led to being reprimanded on set. “I almost you know got kicked off the show,” he added. “They were like, ‘Bro you cannot be doing this.’”

When asked if he was high in some of the scenes they ended up using, Fike said he was, which Lowe pointed out was a bit of a double standard.

“That’s entertainment dude,” the actor said. “They give you a bunch of money, and they’re just like, ‘Yeah figure it out, bud. Sink or swim.’”

Elsewhere in the conversation, Fike shared that he was looking forward to returning to the Euphoria set now that he’s sober because he feels like he’ll have a better dynamic with everyone — well, almost everyone. He and co-star Hunter Schafer were romantically linked in early 2022.

In his conversation with Lowe, he explained that he’s taking a break from relationships because he always ends up dating public figures, which makes it hard to move past them once they are no longer together.

“It’s not that hard to like not date another famous person,” Fike said. “Every time I go through a breakup now it’s like I gotta see somebody on a damn billboard, or like God, it’s a bitch, brother.”

The “3 Nights” singer shared that he believes he and Schafer will be fine because they’re adults — or he’s trying to be one, at least. Lowe pointed out that the actor isn’t the first person to fall in love with a co-star, and he won’t be the last.

“You’re in this very sped-up form of intimacy like, just things move so much faster,” Fike said. “I was saying it’s like getting naked in front of somebody, acting. You know you’re just doing this very silly thing, and you’re just forced to be like your silliest and like most vulnerable in front of somebody, and obviously that accelerates any sort of intimacy that there might already be and so relationships or flings are put on a fast track.”

He continued, “Whenever that slows down, or the show’s not happening, you’re like, what the fuck do we talk about actually? Do you actually know who I am?”