Dominic Fike Was High on Shrooms During His Euphoria Audition

Euphoria star Dominic Fike nearly missed out on the role of Elliot because of his substance abuse problem.

In an interview with GQ, the singer-songwriter and actor revealed he was high on shrooms during his final chemistry read with Barbie Ferreira, resulting in him losing the role. At the time, Fike said he thought taking shrooms would help him get into character, but the result was the opposite.

"I started peaking right when me and Barbie were reading,” he said. Before he knew it, Fike said the letters on his script pages started moving around and he started to see things that weren't there. "I looked at [creator Sam Levinson] and I was like, 'Are you wearing a dress right now?' It was crazy. I started making fun of everybody in the room," Fike recalled.

The actor called the audition a "disaster" and opened up about his addiction, saying, "I was going through so much then, and I was heavily addicted to so many drugs. Trying to make a f*cking album in the midst of that much pressure, the drugs, my family being insane, and me being insane, was impossible.”

Fike ended up going to a rehab center in Antigua in spring 2020 to deal with his substance abuse issues. The move was beneficial in more ways than one: when the Euphoria production team found out he was taking positive steps forward, they offered him another chance to audition. He said the experience of being new on the set of Euphoria “was very intimidating,” but he quickly adjusted. The rest is history.

Euphoria is available to stream on HBO Max.

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Kirstie Renae is a writer, blogger, and Austin-based actress with a penchant for binge-watching TV with her dogs. Follow her on Twitter @KirstieRenae.