Euphoria’s Jacob Elordi weighs in on Nate’s sexuality: ‘It’s deeper than that’
Jacob Elordi as Nate in Euphoria. (HBO)
Euphoria star Jacob Elordi has weighed in on Nate’s sexuality following the rollercoaster that was the show’s second season finale.
Elordi, who plays the abusive quarterback Nate Jacobs on the HBO show, said his character is “deliberately misunderstood” but doesn’t agree with fans who think he is in the closet.
It’s clear to fans that Nate is repressing something, and ever since season one many have speculated over his sexuality.
In one episode, Maddy discovered a batch of other men’s d**k pics on his phone, and throughout season two there have been allusions to him being queer – including in Lexi’s play, which put a Nate facsimile (played by Ethan) front and centre in a homoerotic locker room dance.
Even co-Austin Abrams, who plays Ethan, said he hopes Nate gets a boyfriend in season three.
But Jacob Elordi says he’s “never really approached” Nate’s struggles “in terms of sexuality”.
“I always approach it in terms of family,” he told Variety. “I think the sexuality thing is born from his not having a relationship with his father, or not having the relationship he thinks he should have with his father and mother.
The season two finale saw Nate turn his father Cal in, giving the police a USB drive filled with videos of Cal having sex with men and trans women, filmed without their consent. Presumably some, like Jules, were underage.
He also let Cal know that he’s been watching his secret sex tapes since he was 11.
(Eddy Chen/HBO)
In another interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Elordi reflected on how this impacted Nate.
“[His father, Cal] is supposed to be a role model and a leader and a lover and your protector, and you’ve seen them doing these things and you see the wear and tear inside of a family,” he said.
“So, I think it’s a logical delusion or a logical fear that his father turned his lifestyle onto him, which I think is his greatest fear about his sexuality.”
Nate confronted his father after storming out of Lexi’s play and denouncing the locker room scene as “homophobic”.
Some thought Lexi was trying to out Nate, but to Elordi, it’s not as clear cut.
He told Variety: “I think it’s less about this kind of poppy social thing where everyone wants to be like: ‘Is Nate gay? Is he this, is he that?’,” he said.
“It’s deeper than that. This is just a kid who needs a dad, but everything his dad is being is terrifying, so he wants to be the opposite of that.”
Elordi said that filming the play was “long”, but that it was “so beautifully shot”.
“It was incredible to watch,” he added, “watching Austin do his thing was amazing, and he talked to me about Nate and was asking me about him.
“He was really going into each character and taking bits and pieces from each one. It was just so f**king cool to be a part of.”
