Warning: Spoilers ahead. If you haven’t watched the ‘Euphoria’ Season 3 premiere, please do not proceed.
What about apples?
The Season 3 premiere of HBO’s Euphoria ended with a tense scene in which new crime boss character Alamo Brown (played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) points a gun at Lou (played by Zendaya) and shoots an apple off her head.
The scene was shot “on a hill in the middle of the night in the freezing cold with winds blowing about 55 miles per hour” in Palmdale, California, Akinnuoye-Agbaje exclusively told Page Six about the heart-pounding scene.
“And I was standing there in my speedos and cowboy boots, so it may have looked exotic, but it was freezing cold!” added the British actor.
He said that there was “definitely an apple” in that scene, but he didn’t actually shoot anything at Zendaya. It was a “camera trick”.
Working with the Emmy-winning actress “was a wonderful time,” the “Lost” actor told Page Six.
He praised Zendaya as “generous, very intelligent, and not interested in anything.”
“She can turn it on and off,” he said. “When we have to throw mud in her face, she’s like, ‘Put mud in my face!'” That’s what you look for in a scene partner, someone who’s ready to commit to the scene. ”
The Sam Levinson-starring series, which premiered in 2019 and stars Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, and Sidney Sweeney, initially followed Lu, a drug addict, during her high school years. Season 3, which returns after a long hiatus, picks her up five years later, when she is in debt to drug dealer Laurie, played by Martha Kelly, and is working as his drug mule. In the Season 3 premiere, Laurie sends Lou on an errand to deliver drugs to strip club kingpin Alamo Brown.
When she enters his house where he is holding a party, Ms. Lu is first impressed by his lavish digs and the crowd of scantily clad women. She even asked Alamo for a job, thinking that Alamo seemed a better employer than Raleigh.
However, one of the employees collapses from the drugs Lou delivered, and Lou falls on his bad side. Lou explains that she didn’t intentionally bring in the bad drugs, but in retaliation Alamo takes her outside and shoots an apple off her head.
“The audience may wonder if he really intends to kill her,” Akinnuoye-Agbaje said.
He told Page Six that he considered the scene “a test of her character” because “if she had flinched and run away, I think he would have shot her.”
The “Oz” actor noted that it was “obviously” not the first time the Alamo had done something like this, as the Alamo’s crew acted unfazed about it.
“As you see throughout the series, he’s a master marksman. This guy knows how to fire a bullet and hit the target. So he’s confident in his abilities and in shooting the apple off her head.”
The Game of Thrones actor said the scene was “the beginning of their relationship,” with Alamo “testing” Rue to see if she “deserves” to be in his world.
“This is the world she’s stepping into now. I think it’s a great prelude to the rest of the season.”
Akinnuoye-Agbaje told Page Six that he thinks Alamo “sees something of himself” in Lu.
“He recognizes her ambition and courage” as she steps into “his domain, his kingdom.”
As Season 3 progresses, he teased, “We’ll see the depths of darkness that the world of the Alamo really entails. We’ll see if she can navigate that world.”
“Euphoria” airs Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO.
