Nicholas Hoult Ate Lard Ice Cream for The Great Season Two

Photo: Rich Fury/Getty Images for Vulture

One of the many joys of watching The Great is seeing the weird and wonderful delicacies the 18th-century Russian elite enjoys. And they do enjoy it, Nicholas Hoult, who plays Peter, confirmed at Vulture Festival. “I eat most of it,� he admitted, on a panel with co-star Elle Fanning ahead of the show’s second season. The one on-set food Hoult didn’t enjoy during season two? “Me and Belinda [Bromilow], who plays Aunt Elizabeth, we were so excited about a scene where we just got to eat ice cream,� Hoult said. “But it was actually made out of like, lard and something else, so it wouldn’t melt onscreen. That was the closest I ever got to being really upset on set, ’cause I was like, ‘This is ridiculous.’� The crew eventually got real ice cream (chocolate for Hoult) from the Tesco by the London set. “Because I can’t chew down lard and color it like I’m loving it,� Hoult explained.

Hoult also ate roasted squirrel during season two, meant to stand in for a rat in the scene. “Apparently squirrel is a delicacy,� he noted, but said “it was pretty gross� when he saw it on set. Meanwhile, Fanning spent the upcoming season eating the foods Catherine the Great craved during her pregnancy: among them rusty nails, dirt, and flower petals. “The rusty nail, I think, we had one that was made of chocolate, and when I would suck on it, it looked too much like chocolate, like it was coming off,� she said. “So I was like, ‘Ahh, all right, we’ve got a real one, let’s bring it in.’� The dirt, she added, was made of crushed Oreos, and the flower petals were made of marzipan — although she also had to swap those for real petals, because “they looked a little bit marzipan-y.�

And the actors’ commitment to making things look real didn’t stop at the food. Hoult revealed later in the panel — after whispering about it with Fanning — that he requested K-Y Jelly lube to put on his face for a scene after Peter performs oral sex on Catherine, “to make it look more realistic.� “It was something I remember, think I stole as an idea from when they were shooting The Favourite,� added Hoult, who played Harley in the film. “So there was a special makeup Ziploc with ‘WAP’ juice.� Catch that, and more TV magic, when The Great season two hits Hulu on November 19.