Hunter Schafer’s “Cuckoo” Costar Dan Stevens Just Made Some Seriously Wild Claims About Her Time On “Euphoria”
It’s fair to say that the HBO series Euphoria is just as known for its behind-the-scenes gossip as it is for its onscreen storylines.
For example, it has been widely reported, but unconfirmed, that showrunner Sam Levinson drastically reduced one character, Kat’s, screen time after actor Barbie Ferreira had a huge row with him and stormed off set.
Another contentious issue is the amount of nudity that Sam originally had in his Season 2 script, with several cast members revealing that they requested their nude scenes be reduced.
Sydney Sweeney, Minka Kelly, Austin Abrams, and Chloe Cherry are all among the stars who said they either approached Sam directly or had somebody else advocate for the change on their behalf.
Jacob Elordi, who plays Nate, also revealed that none of the cast had any idea on what was going on in Season 2 because Sam was constantly changing the script during filming.
He told Insider: “Honestly, these scripts were chopping and changing pretty regularly for the longest time. I had a general idea of what was happening, but it was also pretty touch and go a lot of the time.”
Then, soon after the season’s lackluster finale aired on Feb. 27, 2022, the Daily Beast published a damning article about the allegedly “toxic” environment on set.
Insiders claimed that the production endured “gruelingly long workdays that could stretch anywhere from 15 to 17 hours.” One source told the publication: “It felt toxic to me because I don’t think anybody was really happy to be there.”
The report came after a background actor posted and then deleted a TikTok video about the “miserable” time she’d had shooting one of the episodes. She claimed that there were several continuity errors in her scene because many extras refused to come back after 16-hour filming days.
She also claimed that actor Dominic Fike, who plays Elliot in the show, was replaced with a “bootleg” version of himself after he took a step back from filming, though she did not reveal why Dominic stopped showing up to set.
But through all of the drama, one of the stars who hasn’t really divulged much about their experience on set is Hunter Schafer, who plays Jules.
Euphoria was the star’s first major acting role, and while she recently admitted that it was “tough” to tell her pastor parents about her character’s explicit sex scenes, she hasn’t commented on any of the show’s rumored controversies.
Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Hunter explained: “When I had to tell my parents: ‘In the first episode, I’m having anal sex with a 45-year-old and cutting myself in the arm,’ my first thought is like, OK, they have to tell their congregation that their kid’s going to be on TV, and then their congregation, who are just little old nice white Christian people from the south, are going to watch this TV show and see me getting fucked. I still do feel bad because that’s something they still have to deal with.”
She also acknowledged that it would “be tough” to return for Season 3 of the show, but this was in reference to the tragic 2023 deaths of her costar Angus Cloud and the show’s producer Kevin Turen.
“Obviously I’m still coming to qualms about what’s happened and losing people that we really loved and were a part of this family and everything,” she said. “If we do go back, that’s going to be tough.”
But despite Hunter’s best efforts not to feed into the Euphoria discourse, her Cuckoo costar appears to have revealed that she also struggled on Sam Levinson’s set.
Horror movie Cuckoo marks Hunter’s first movie lead, and her costar Dan Stevens reflected on how “exciting” the experience was for her.
“There’s nothing more exciting than doing your first movie, especially the lead, at the dawn of a very, very exciting career,” Dan said of Hunter in a recent interview with Vanity Fair. “There was a real energy there. She’s got a great attitude on and off set.”
The Downton Abbey star then referenced Hunter’s time on Euphoria, saying: “Her only experience prior to this was working on Euphoria, which is a very, very different experience, and by all accounts, not a terribly pleasant one.”
“I think it was refreshing and delightful for her to realize that not every job needs to be like Euphoria,” Dan went on. “It was nice to be able to present that and to be a part of that.”
“We can still shoot this incredibly fucked-up, difficult scene, but everybody’s still friends at the end of the day and nobody needs to have months of therapy afterwards,” he concluded.
BuzzFeed has contacted Hunter’s rep for comment.
Dan’s comments come shortly after the Hollywood Reporter published a wide-ranging exposé on Euphoria’s previously confirmed third season, which claimed that production had been delayed due to a dispute between Sam and the show’s lead actor, Zendaya.
According to the report, Zendaya was irritated by Sam dedicating his time and energy to his widely panned and hugely controversial HBO series The Idol, which aired last year.
When he had failed to deliver the scripts for Season 3 of Euphoria, the actor allegedly called a meeting with HBO bosses to get answers. Zendaya was reportedly left even more annoyed when Rolling Stone published a shocking report alleging that The Idol had gone “disgustingly, disturbingly off the rails” and likened it to “sexual torture porn.”
“Her image is pristine,” an anonymous executive said of Zendaya in the Hollywood Reporter article. “And fans were turning against Sam.”
Neither Sam nor Zendaya have publicly commented on the report, and there is still no update on whether or not Season 3 of Euphoria will actually go ahead.
Close-ups of Zendaya, wearing a sleek white outfit, and Ludwig G?ransson, in a classic buttoned-up suit, at a public event Here’s What Reportedly Went Down Between Zendaya And Sam LevinsonEllen Durney · July 24, 2024
A Background Actor For “Euphoria” Opened Up About Her “Miserable” Experience On Set And Revealed Extras Refused To Return After 16-Hour Days Left Them “Numb”Stephanie Soteriou · Feb. 23, 2022
“Euphoria’s” Hunter Schafer Revealed That Jules’s Season 1 Style Left Her Hair “Fried” So She Literally Begged To Have It Cut Off In Season 2Stephanie Soteriou · March 4, 2022
“Euphoria” Season 2 Originally Had More Nudity, Fewer Guns, A “Gross Pedophilia Vibe,” And A Hopeless Finale. Here’s What Was Going To Happen Before The Storylines Were Scrapped.Stephanie Soteriou · Feb. 17, 2022
