Eric Dane Opens Up About Filming Explicit Scenes In 'Euphoria'

McSteamy actor Eric Dane is one of the protagonists of the HBO series Euphoria. The former Grey's Anatomy star is opening up about some of his intense scenes in the graphic new drama. Dane’s character, Cal Jacobs, is a strict father who is secretly having sexual encounters with young, queer men and trans women. At one point in the show, he meets a teenager named Jules Vaughn (Hunter Schafer), who is trans, through a dating app. As per PEOPLE, speaking of an intense moment that depicted the statutory rape of Jules, the 46-year-old admitted to Entertainment Weekly in an interview published on Sunday, “Those scenes are very difficult to shoot.” 

The actor has recently been trending on Twitter for a graphic scene where he has sex with a man. According to The Things, Dane was extremely intimate in episode two of the second season, titled Out Of Touch where he was eating out a character's butt. "This show is so great cause it has dr. mark sloan eating butt. now that's mcsteamy," was one person's comment. "I have to keep telling myself that mark sloan and cal jacobs are two different people," was another comment. The other actor involved in the scene stepped forward to identify himself and answered some questions, according to Pride. “It was me,” Christin Byrdsong tweeted alongside a photo with him and Dane. The actor also shared that he had always had a crush on Dane and admitted that he was great to work with, stating: Truly a gem of a man. So professional and chill. I talked to him about Charmed cause I was obsessed as a kid. Still am actually. Lol He’s just a really good guy

An intimacy expert is there on the set to coach the actors through the graphic and intense scenes. Dane explained, “It helps to have one voice 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.” The scene in question includes an erect penis as Cal puts on a condom. Dane said the scene was filmed using a prosthetic. “Using a prosthetic is sort of protocol,” he said. “It’s protocol and it’s also very considerate to your scene partner. 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.’ 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.” He added, “I just got tired of playing characters that appear to be the right fit. Sam [Levinson] is such a strong writer. He’s got such a unique and articulate vision. I felt like if I were going to play a role like this, then I was in really good hands.”