Euphoria star Eric Dane explains show’s most shockingly explicit scene

A former Grey’s Anatomy star shocked fans with an extremely explicit scene in a controversial TV series. Here’s why he did it.

Grey’s Anatomy star Eric Dane has well and truly shed what’s left of his ‘Dr McSteamy’ reputation.

In the first episode of HBO’s controversial teen drama Euphoria — which streams on Binge — (*SPOILERS AHEAD*), Dane’s character, a married man with a family, commits statutory rape with a trans teenager named Jules (Hunter Schafer).

The scene is intensely graphic and left many viewers shocked, particularly because it features a fully erect penis:

I did not expect McSteamy to show his McHotdog in #Euphoria pic.twitter.com/Rad8ffMKhO

— paulin pagulayan (@paulinp5) June 17, 2019

McSteamy en Euphoria got me like 😳 pic.twitter.com/AVecKhNZzn

— Alfonsina Blyde (@alfoon) June 17, 2019

they got mcsteamy out here playing the perverted old man in euphoria i’m- pic.twitter.com/DHqz2blRi4

— taylolo (@tayloradelakin_) June 17, 2019

Well I definitely didn’t expect to see McSteamy quite like this. 😳 #Euphoria #MarkSloan

— Miranda (@mdawn37) June 17, 2019

McSteamy is in Euphoria, and you saw his 🍆...... im speechless

— JJ (@Jennx011) June 17, 2019

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, in June the Grey’s Anatomy heartthrob confirmed that Euphoria utilised a prosthetic for the “intense” moment, although he revealed that he was “willing” to go full-frontal if that’s what the scene required. “I just don’t see how you shoot a scene like that without showing nudity,” said Dane. “The stakes are so high, you can’t hold anything back, really.”

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Eric Dane’s appearance in episode one of Euphoria shocked viewers.

In the Euphoria pilot, Dane’s Cal Jacobs meets a 17-year-old trans girl, Jules, online, and they arrange to meet at a hotel, where he commits statutory rape. Dane told Entertainment Weekly that Euphoria had an intimacy co-ordinator on hand to ensure that everyone was comfortable while shooting the graphic scene. “Those scenes are very difficult to shoot,” said Dane, adding that it’s helpful to have “one voice in your ear” to “express your feelings to, and somebody that is an advocate for the actors.” Added the actor, “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 star has disrobed on screen before — here he is in Ugly Betty — but never to this extent.

The scene features full-frontal nudity and an erect penis, which Dane confirmed was a prosthetic. “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,” Dane told EW. “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, while Dane was willing to bare it all, Euphoria producers ultimately decided to go a more traditional route. “Using a prosthetic is sort of protocol. It’s protocol and it’s also very considerate to your scene partner,” explained Dane. “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.”

This story originally appeared on Decider and is republished here with permission.