Eric Dane was willing to go nude for Euphoria’s ‘intense’ rape scene

Actor Eric Dane offered to put his genitals on full display for an “intense” rape scene in new TV drama Euphoria because he considered it “critical” to the story.
The series’ pilot episode, which premiered in the U.S. on Sunday night (16Jun19), featured the former Grey’s Anatomy star as married Cal Jacobs, who sexually assaults a 17-year-old transgender girl named Jules, played by Hunter Schafer.
Dane had no problem stripping off for the dark full-frontal nude scene, but after much deliberation, he and the producers agreed to use a prosthetic penis for the shoot.
“I’m willing to do anything that’s critical to the story and crucial to creating a very real and truthful feel to how the story is gonna go down,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
“I just don’t see how you shoot a scene like that without showing nudity. And, you know, it kind of matches the stakes. The stakes are so high, you can’t hold anything back, really.”
However, it was decided that using a prosthetic would be more “considerate” to Dane’s scene partner, 20-year-old acting newcomer Schafer.
“There was one isolated shot that I suggested, ‘Look if it makes more sense to not use a prosthetic, I’m willing to go there,'” he said. “At the end of the day, because of the context, we decided that the prosthetic was the way to go, and we came to that decision as a group.”
Producers also made sure to have an intimacy co-ordinator available for the actors to ensure they were as comfortable as possible on set.
“Those scenes are very difficult to shoot,” Dane admitted. “It helps to have one voice (of an expert) in your ear. One voice that you can express your feelings to, and somebody that is an advocate for the actors.
“It just simplifies a lot of things and makes for a safe and comfortable environment while shooting something that is fairly uncomfortable to shoot. And certainly, the stuff that we did in the pilot is no exception. It’s a pretty intense scene.”
Euphoria, which also stars Zendaya and is co-executive produced by rapper Drake, follows a group of high school students seeking to find themselves while experiencing love, sex, trauma, and drug use.