Dominic Fike Was ‘Drinking Whiskey, Taking Shrooms’ Before Euphoria Audition

Dominic Fike’s character in Euphoria was inspired by his personal struggles — and failed initial audition.

During an appearance on the Sept. 22 episode of Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Fike, 29, revealed how he landed his role in the award-winning drama. It all started when a casting agent reached out after seeing a video of the artist performing “Bags” by Clairo for triple j’s “Like a Version” series.

“I didn’t know what Euphoria was,” Fike admitted. “I didn’t know it’s this big f—— TV show. I don’t know who [director] Sam Levinson is. I don’t know f—— even Barbie [Ferreira] or Zendaya or any of the girls.”

“The night before, I was reading about some actor who did his thing f—– up or something, maybe it was a week before,” he continued. “So I stayed up all night with this girl drinking whiskey, taking shrooms. I show up to the audition, or the read, beyond f—– up. I’m just laughing at Sam, and everyone’s laughing at me because I’m just laughing at them.”

Fike recalled “throwing s— around” and poking fun at Levinson for his outfit after showing up 30 minutes late.

“They’re like, ‘Can you do this?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know, probably,’” he said. “We started reading it, but then the words started jumping around on the page. I was like, ‘I can’t do this script.’ And they were like, ‘Dom, just go get rest.’ And they were so mad at me. I remember they called my agents and were like, ‘This kid’s never doing anything in Hollywood again, ever. We’re so mad.’”

A year later, after the actor started “trying to buckle down” and work on himself, Levinson called him back.

“Sam had rewritten this character that I’d shown up to read, but he wrote it with the qualities of the guy who he saw show up,” he explained. “He writes this guy that’s like, half his character and half the dude that showed up that day. And then I was honest with him. He has a meeting with me. He’s like, ‘Okay, I know that you get f—– up, obviously. You have some problems. I have those problems too. We can get someone to help you, but you have to do this. You sign a five year contract. It’s just a formality.’”

“But he’s like, ‘I need to know that you’re not gonna f— me on this,’” Fike added. “I was like, ‘Brother, I got you.’ At this time, I’m not understanding the stakes, still, of this show.”

While Fike has been confirmed to return for season 3 of Euphoria, he previously opened up about playing Elliot, a drug-addicted teen, and the impact that his real-life addiction had on the job.

“When I was on Euphoria, they kind of just gave me, like, a coach who would just talk to you. It was whatever. It was just some random lady,” he said of his “sober coach” on set, who was “just like, ‘Don’t do drugs!’”

She was “just a random lady that I’d never relate to,” he said at Sundance’s Variety studio presented by Audible in 2024. “We have nothing in common. We didn’t come from the same places or the same problems. It was hard to take advice from someone like that or give a s—.”

He has also shared that he was almost fired from the show for his drug use and filming scenes while high. “I was reprimanded for it,” he said in July 2023. “I almost, you know, got kicked off the show…. They were like, ‘Bro, you cannot be doing this.'” 

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Euphoria can be streamed on HBO Max.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.