'Euphoria' stars Eric Dane and Jacob Elordi talk Cal's 'master class' meltdown (2024)

Euphoria star Eric Dane jokes that when he saw the script for his character Cal Jacobs' tour de force speech in Sunday's episode, where he damns himself and his family while having his penis hanging out, "my first thought was I hope they don't think I'm using my own to do this."

He and co-star Jacob Elordi, who plays his sinister son Nate Jacobs, talked to EW about the meltdown moment between the Jacobs family in the season 2 episode of the HBO drama, titled "You Who Cannot See, Think of Those Who Can."

"When he came in on the day that we shot it, it was like experiencing a master class," says Elordi of shooting the climatic scene with his TV dad. "We were all standing at the top of the stairs as a family, and this player just came, he just kicked down the door and from the moment the door opened, it was just like [Claps], and I remember sitting back in awe, just like, 'Oh s---. This is the real deal."

The pair do both confirm that Cal's penis in the scene is a prosthetic, with a tube inside and a mechanism for Dane to operate when he's performing the opening moments of the scene where Cal pees on the floor.

Even though his wife and kids are instantly appalled by the Jacobs patriarch's actions, Elordi feels Nate isn't too surprised by his dad's tirade. "Other than the immediate sort of physical insult of seeing his father with his penis out, peeing on the floor, the shock of that, I think outside of it, everything else is not new to him," says the actor. "Even when Cal starts coming in and speaking his truth, that's something I think that Nate's known for such a long time, and the fact that he's doing it in front of his family, I think immediately he needed to go into like, 'OK, how am I gonna deal with this? Your shock tactics aren't gonna work on me now. I'm gonna start moving forward and figure out how I'm gonna deal with you.'"

Speaking on behalf of his character, Dane clarifies Cal's line implying Nate is his biggest regret, saying "I never interpreted that as Nate being my biggest regret. I regret not being able to be a parent. I regret not being able to be a father, and I am more or less resentful towards him for that."

Still, the line has a major effect on Nate, according to Elordi, who says, "There's a great deal of hurt in that, having someone who's supposed to be there for you, to pick you up, telling you that 'I can't love you.' I think that's always gonna be a little bit heartbreaking."

For Dane, the core of Cal's issue with Nate is "We see in others what we hate most about ourselves. And I see myself in Nate and it's both confusing and terrifying at the same time. And the last thing I want him to do is follow in my footsteps. But what's that saying about me? That I'm a totally unworthy POS who shouldn't be looked up to and revered as a parent."

Both Cal and Nate have caused endless troubles for the rest of the cast of Euphoria, from countless threats to assault to statutory rape, but the two actors who play them appreciate how the show has taken time to provide a fuller picture of how the two antagonists got to where they are now. "It's very easy as a viewer to judge what you're seeing on television, but every single character is based off of a human being who was born, and was given a set of circ*mstances in the way that they were raised, and has lived the whole life. And that goes for anyone on this earth, even the most heinous of people, there's a story there, and there's a human element to it," says Elordi.

He adds, "Movies and TV are selective with what you see, you get this glory reel of a person's life. And I think we're lucky in this show because it's gone on two seasons now, and now you get to see why these 'terrible' people are the way they are."

Dane echoes his co-star's sentiment, saying this season of Euphoria "doesn't excuse all of [Cal's] behaviors, but I think it opens the door for maybe a little compassion, little empathy, maybe some more understanding."

As for whether or not Cal's flameout means Dane has exited the show, the actor responds, "I happen to know that it's not the end."

"The boys are just getting started," exclaims Elordi.

For more of their thoughts on the dynamic between Cal and Nate Jacobs, and the friendship they themselves have built, watch the full interview with Euphoria stars Eric Dane and Jacob Elordi above.

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• Euphoria star Eric Dane on Cal's conflicted backstory and 'clusterf---' confrontation with Ashtray
• Euphoria star Jacob Elordi on Nate's 'brutal' beatdown: 'I kinda knew it was coming'