Euphoria star breaks silence on unexpected onscreen death

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Euphoria and includes images that some viewers may find distressing.

One of Euphoria's 'OG' stars has spoken out after HBO aired their much-loved character's grisly demise.

The actor in question first joined the coming-of-age hit back in 2019, and since then, they've cemented themselves as one of the world's most in-demand, well-know stars in the industry.

So much so, that when creator Sam Levinson teased the idea of a third series, fans wondered whether the actor would find time in their busy schedule to return to the show - which, thankfully, they did.

We are, of course, talking about Jacob Elordi.

For weeks, viewers have wondered whether his bad-boy character, Nate Jacobs, would ever repay the debt he owes to blood-hungry loan shark, Naz (Jack Topalian), who already hacked off a finger and a thumb as a downpayment.

During the latest episode, which dropped in the early hours of this morning (25 May) for UK viewers, Nate was abducted by the henchman, locked in a coffin and buried under a construction site with only a pipe for oxygen.

His wife, Cassie (Sydney Sweeney), had helped to cough up some cash by sleeping with Hollywood actor Dylan (Homer Gere), posting a photo alongside the star, and driving traffic to her online sex work, and his high school ex Maddy (Alexa Demie) even volunteered to sleep with strip club owner Alamo Brown (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) to contribute to the ransom.

How does Nate die in Euphoria?

The duo were too late to pay off Nate's debts (HBO)

Later, Maddy and Cassie met with Naz to hand over the money, before Alamo whipped out a pistol and shot the loanshark.

By the time the trio unearthed the coffin from the ground, however, Nate was already six feet under. A rattlesnake has made its way into the box, biting him to death.

Opening the coffin lid, Cassie and Maddy were confronted by Nate's swollen corpse in a scene that many viewers later slammed as disappointing, having hoped for some kind of redemption for the toxic hunk.

In a behind-the-scenes interview released following the episode, however, Elordi described his exit as a 'cool way to go'.

Nate was trapped with the snake (HBO)

"Nate is somebody who’s made so many mistakes and so many dark choices, it’s cool to see it all come to what it’s come to," the 28-year-old claimed.

Recalling the heart-stopping scene, he added: "I had to go into this coffin, my shoulders were touching the side, and I couldn’t move my arms, and then they would drill the lid on, and it would get dark. It was really nice, actually. It was quite peaceful."

Also giving an interview, creator Levinson gave Elordi 'enormous credit' for filming his ultimate scene in the presence of a real snake.

"The snakes were rattling, which was really alarming when you’re locked in a box," Elordi recalled. "They had a boa constrictor that they put a fake rattler on the end of, and Sam was like, 'I’m gonna drop a snake on you’.

Elordi described his death as a 'cool way to go' (HBO)

"He was super cute. He was really cuddly. So he kind of just sidled up next to me, and it was nice. But he was really sleepy. He was a sleepy snake. I had to kind of nudge him to get him to come up. And that was it."

Looking back on his final day on set, the Australian star claimed: "It’s a bittersweet thing. This show is a massive part of not just my career, but my life.

"It’s been amazing, and I’m so proud being a part of this."

Where to watch Euphoria season 3 episode 7

The latest episode of Euphoria, titled Rain or Shine, dropped in the UK on Monday (25 May).

You can stream every episode of the show on HBO Max in the UK.

It also airs on Sky Atlantic and is available via NOW, as with previous seasons.