The actor also addresses his breakup with co-star Hunter Schafer in a wide-ranging new interview.
Dominic Fike's experience on Euphoria could have been short-lived. The 27-year-old actor, who plays Elliot on the Max drama, revealed in a new interview that he was reprimanded and nearly fired for being high on the job.
"I was a drug addict and coming on to a show that's, you know, mainly about drugs, is very difficult," Fike says in a wide-ranging interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music.
Fike shares that Euphoria writer and director Sam Levinson hired a "sober coach" to be with him "all the time," but the strategy "did not work." Asked whether he filmed any of his scenes while high, Fike replies, "Oh my god. Yeah, dude."
"I was so f**ked up during a lot of that show. It was really bad," he admits.
"I was reprimanded for it," he continues. "I almost, you know, got kicked off the show. ... They were like, 'Bro, you cannot be doing this.'"
Fike says that some of the takes that he shot while under the influence did end up in the final edit of the show, noting that producers "had to" use those scenes.
When Lowe suggests there is a double standard regarding the expectation of Fike as an actor, the star responds, "Yeah, that's entertainment dude. They give you a bunch of money and they're like, 'Yeah, figure it out bud. Sink or swim.'"
Fike first joined Euphoria during the show's second season, playing a fellow addict who strikes up a friendship with Zendaya's character, Rue, and sets up a love triangle that also includes Hunter Schafer's character, Jules. In real life, Fike struck up a highly-publicized romance with Schafer behind the scenes. The two have since broken up.
Both parties are set to return for the show's upcoming third season, while Fike declares that he's "done being in relationships right now."
He's also sober, and is excited to return to set.
"It's gonna be sick," he gushes. "I have a better dynamic with everybody."
Fike pauses, with a chuckle, adding, "I mean, well, I don't know. Almost everybody."
He clarifies: "I think it'll be fine. We're all adults, kind of. I'm trying."
In February 2022, Fike seemed to confirm his romance with Schafer by posting a PDA picture to Instagram.
Romance rumors between the pair swirled one month prior, when they were spotted holding hands after having dinner together. The couple appeared to be involved in an on-again-off-again romance before seemingly calling it quits for good earlier this year.
When ET spoke to Fike in 2022, the actor gushed about joining the Euphoria cast.
"I was surprised to be there. I was standing there, like, 'Why am I here? Why would anybody invite me to hang out with these people?'" he said. "But it became really clear that there was a spot for me. They’re just wonderful people."
Today, the artist is focused on his music. His new album, Sunburn, is out now.
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