Jacob Elordi says Euphoria death scene put him in a coffin with a snake

Jacob Elordi says Nate’s exit from Euphoria came with a very real reptile, a very cramped coffin and two days of filming he will not be forgetting.

Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with guest host Colman Domingo, Elordi discussed the final season death of his character, Nate, who was buried alive on the HBO drama and then killed after a snake bite.

According to Variety, Domingo, who also stars on Euphoria, brought up Nate’s death during the interview. The studio audience reacted with a sympathetic “aww,” prompting Elordi to tease viewers for changing their tune after years of online hostility toward the character.

Elordi said he had seen the social media posts from fans who wanted Nate gone, then joked that the crowd sounded sad once the show actually killed him off.

Nate’s brutal final run

Variety reported that Season 3 followed Nate after trouble tied to an investment in his real-estate business. In the season’s storyline, a businessman and his henchmen pursued him across multiple episodes, with Nate repeatedly attacked by hired muscle.

Elordi linked the punishment-heavy arc to series creator Sam Levinson, telling Domingo that he thought Levinson had brought him back to put him through more pain. The actor said the shoot involved weeks of being chased and beaten by a much larger performer.

The character’s end was even more claustrophobic. Elordi said he was shut inside a coffin for two straight days while wearing prosthetics and a fake tongue, with his vision blocked for the scene.

Then came the snakes.

Elordi said Levinson put snakes in the coffin with him for the sequence. Variety reported that the animal sharing the space with Elordi was a boa constrictor, though the finished scene presented it as a rattlesnake.

The actor described the boa as calm rather than menacing. He told Domingo the snake seemed sleepy and docile, and said he tried nudging it to make it appear more active for the camera because the moment was supposed to feel dangerous.

Instead, Elordi said, the reptile behaved more like a small dog, curling up by his feet rather than striking a threatening pose.

Elordi credits Euphoria with changing his career

During the interview, Elordi also reflected on how much Euphoria affected his career. He said the series changed his life and that he still struggles to process the scale of its impact on him.

Speaking to Domingo, Elordi pointed to both of their post-Euphoria film careers, noting that Domingo has led Steven Spielberg projects while Elordi has worked with Ridley Scott.

Elordi’s next film is Scott’s The Dog Stars, which Variety said is set to premiere on Aug. 28.

This story draws on original reporting from Variety.