The premiere of HBO’s Euphoria could’ve doubled as a genitalia drinking game, but we don’t hate our livers that much, as there were a lot of penises on rotation. Perhaps the most unsettling scene so far, though, was Eric Dane’s character having rough sex and committing statutory rape with a trans high-school girl, who happens to attend the same school as his son. The scene, which showed an erect penis and full-frontal nudity, ultimately relied on prosthetics — although Dane was happy to do his own nudity if asked. “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,†he 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.â€
After some deliberation, Dane chose to use prosthetics to be more “considerate†to his scene partner, newbie actress Hunter Schafer. “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,’†he said. “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.†Dane won’t reveal anything more about the exploits of his character, only adding, “this is a cautionary tale.â€