He didn’t cross the line.
Warning: Spoilers ahead. Do not proceed if you have not watched Euphoria Season 3 Episode 3, “The Ballad of Paladin.”
Nate (Jacob Elordi) and Cassie’s (Sidney Sweeney) long-awaited “Euphoria” wedding comes to a bloody end. On his wedding night, Nate is brutally beaten and severely injured, resulting in the amputation of his toes.
“There are certain body part amputations that my character is very happy to do,” Jack Topalian exclusively told Page Six, adding that he used “prosthetic” toes for Elordi.
“The clippers they gave me have pretty sharp edges. So at one point I had to be really careful with that because I was putting it around Jake’s toes.”
The actor had to be careful how to “squeeze” Elordi’s toes with the clippers.
“I squeezed it a little too hard and I literally almost cut my toe. But everything went well. No accidents, no accidents,” he explained.
Topalian will play shady businessman Naz, a new character for season three. Nate owes him over $500,000 and continues to miss payments. Nate is shown ignoring Naz’s calls and having panic attacks before marrying Cassie.
After Nate and Cassie get married, Naz bursts into Nate’s wedding reception and tells him that he will be her “worst nightmare.”
And on Nate’s wedding night, as he crosses the threshold with his new wife in his arms, Naz keeps his promise.
He waits at their mansion and brutalizes Nate’s men as a terrified Cassie cries out. Naz then cuts off Nate’s toe.
Nas’ henchman was played by former NFL player and Super Bowl winner Matt Willig.
“What a great guy he is,” said Topalian, who also appeared on “The Blacklist” and “Bosch.” “He’s also a great actor, so he ends up doing all the dirty work…[My character]is the type of guy who’s not going to get his hands dirty, but he’s going to get the money, no matter what.”
Filming for the scene lasted “several days” and included Nas’ henchmen throwing Nate, slamming him face-first into a wall, punching him, and dragging him up a grand staircase.
“There’s a lot of physicality involved with Jacob and Matthew. Jacob did a lot of his own stunts,” Topalian said. “It’s[Elordi]actually struggling, fighting, falling down, all that stuff.”
Although it was a brutal scene, there was a cheerful atmosphere behind the scenes.
He called Elordi “committed,” “dedicated,” and “ready to go,” but said, “Between scenes, he’s back to being Jacob.”
“Obviously, he’ll get right back into character,” he continued. “But even though he was beaten and abused once (the director calls it ‘cut’), he still has a lot of fun. He still makes jokes and does things like that.”
Topalian said he brought his daughter Elizabeth, a fan of “Euphoria,” to the set. Both Elordi and Sweeney were very “warm” and “courteous and welcoming” to her.
“Euphoria” Season 3 airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.
