Jacob Elordi Got a Real Snake Dropped on Him While Filming Euphoria’s Most Disturbing Scene — and Called It “Cuddly”

Spoilers ahead for Euphoria Season 3, Episode 7 — “Rain or Shine.”

Jacob Elordi just pulled back the curtain on one of the most unsettling scenes in Euphoria history — and the behind-the-scenes reality is somehow even wilder than what made it to screen.

In the penultimate episode of Season 3, Elordi’s character Nate Jacobs met his end in a way that felt almost poetic for the show’s most notorious villain. The former golden boy — whose years of cruelty, manipulation, and dark choices finally caught up with him — was stuffed into a coffin and buried alive. As if that weren’t grim enough, his desperate cries from underground drew the attention of a rattlesnake, which ultimately delivered the fatal bite before Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) and Maddy (Alexa Demie) could reach him in time.

But here’s the twist that has fans talking: that snake on screen? Completely real.

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Locked In a Box, in the Dark — With an Actual Snake

In a behind-the-scenes featurette that HBO aired immediately following the episode, Elordi broke down exactly what filming inside that coffin actually felt like.

“I had to go into this coffin. My shoulders were touching the side, and I couldn’t move my arms, and then they would drill the lid on, and it would get dark,” he described. And yet, surprisingly? “It was really nice, actually. It was quite peaceful in there.”

The calm didn’t last long.

Series creator Sam Levinson confirmed in the same featurette that he made a very deliberate — and very intense — creative call for the sequence. “An enormous amount of credit to Jacob,” Levinson said, noting that Elordi agreed to shoot the scene with a real snake.

Elordi explained exactly how it went down: “They had a boa constrictor that they put a fake rattler on the end of, and Sam was like, ‘We’re just gonna drop a snake on you.’“

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“Really Alarming” — But Also Surprisingly Cuddly

Because the production used a boa constrictor rather than an actual rattlesnake, Elordi was never in any real danger of a venomous bite. Still, that didn’t make the experience entirely stress-free.

“The snakes were rattling, which is really alarming when you’re locked in a box,” he admitted.

But once the initial shock wore off, Elordi found himself warming up to his unexpected co-star in a way nobody saw coming.

“He was, like, real cuddly, so he just saddled up next to me, and it was nice,” Elordi said of the boa. “But he was real sleepy. I had to kind of nudge him to get him to come up.”

So there it is — Jacob Elordi, one of Hollywood’s biggest rising stars, gently nudging a sleeping boa constrictor inside a sealed coffin to make sure it hit its mark.

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A Fitting End for Euphoria‘s Most Hated Character

For Elordi, the manner of Nate’s death felt exactly right for a character who spent years making other people’s lives miserable.

“Tucked in this box, with dust falling on me, and a snake coming down the pipe… It’s a cool way to go,” he said with a grin.

He reflected on the character’s long, dark arc with genuine thoughtfulness. “Nate is someone who’s made so many mistakes and made so many dark choices. It’s cool to see it all come to what it’s come to.”

Saying goodbye to Nate after six years was, by Elordi’s own admission, bittersweet.

“This show is a massive part of, not just my career, but my life,” he shared. “It’s been amazing, and I’m so proud, being a part of this.”

The Season 3 finale of Euphoria airs Sunday, May 31, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and Max.