Dominic Fike Explained Why His "Euphoria" Sober Coach Didn't Work

This post contains discussion of substance abuse.

You probably know Dominic Fike from his career as a musician, and if you watched the second season of Euphoria, you definitely know him as Elliot from the hit HBO show.

Dominic wearing a fuzzy hat and a jacket at a variety event
Variety / John Salangsang / Variety via Getty Images

On the show, Elliot was someone who used drugs with Euphoria's main character Rue, who struggles with drug addiction — and last year, Dominic revealed that he was struggling with addiction himself while filming the series.

A closeup of Dominic singing on stage
Burak Cingi / Redferns

"I mean, I was a drug addict and coming onto a show mainly about drugs, it was very difficult," he told Zane Lowe during an Apple Music interview. He also said that the show's creator, Sam Levinson, got him an on-set sober coach but he eventually was almost "kicked off" the show for drug use.

So, Dominic walked the Sundance red carpet for the premiere of his new film Little Death, and during an interview with Variety, he elaborated on why having a sober coach on set didn't help.

  Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for WSJ. Magazine Innovators Awards
Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for WSJ. Magazine Innovators Awards

"When I was on Euphoria, they kind of just gave me a coach who would just talk to you," he explained, after referring to himself as "a pretty big drug addict" while talking about how he plays an addict in his new film.

he's on stage with a guitar and mic in hand
Tim Mosenfelder / Getty Images

Dominic described the sober coach as "just some random lady that I'd never relate to." "We had nothing in common," he said.

Dominic on the red carpet in a satin shirt, sparkled jacket, and slacks while holding an unlit cigarette
Lionel Hahn / Getty Images

"We didn’t come from the same places or the same problems. It was hard to take advice from someone like that or give a shit.”

  Stephane Cardinale - Corbis / Corbis via Getty Images
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis / Corbis via Getty Images

As for whether Elliot will be returning for Euphoria's long-awaited third season, Dominic said that it "would be dope" to come back to the show but that "I don't really talk to them anymore." So we'll see!

  Jeff Kravitz / Getty Images for HBO
Jeff Kravitz / Getty Images for HBO

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, you can call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and find more resources here.