Euphoria’s Eric Dane says he can relate to closeted Cal’s heartbreak: ‘I’ve lived a double life’
Actor Eric Dane and actor Elias Kacavas as Young Cal Jacobs (Getty/Jeff Kravitz/HBO)
Euphoria star Eric Dane says he can relate to his villainous character Cal Jacobs after viewers were left moved by his emotional backstory.
Fans were left torn this week as Euphoria introduced young Cal (Elias Kacavas) and explained how he once fell in love with his high school best friend, Derek (Henry Eikenberry).
In a tender flashback sequence, viewers saw how the blossoming love story ended in heartbreak, as Cal’s girlfriend Marsha (Rebecca Louise) revealed she was pregnant with his child just hours after Cal and Derek shared their first kiss.
As we already knew, Cal went on to marry Marsha and raise children together while sneaking out for secret one-night stands.
In a new interview about his complex Euphoria character, Eric Dane revealed that he “didn’t really have to do any research” to help him resonate with Cal’s trauma after his own experiences with drug and alcohol abuse.
i hate cal jacobs but this scene..no one talk to me #euphoria pic.twitter.com/EOEVgfaNQ7
— peterdaya (@peterdayaa) January 24, 2022
“I know what it’s like to live a double life,” he told Out magazine. “The circumstances weren’t precisely the same, but it doesn’t matter.”
He continued: “When you put up a facade, you’re putting up a facade, and when you’re being a certain way with certain people and another way with other people that transcends the specifics of the circumstances.”
The former Grey’s Anatomy star teased that more revelations might come for his character as he added: “Bringing [Cal] back for a season two was great. I got to create a whole new character.
“Cal is living his truth and within that, you get a guy who’s completely free and we’ve never seen that from him last year ’cause he was so contained.”
Young Cal (Elias Kacavas) and his best friend Derek (Henry Eikenberry) in Euphoria (HBO)
In another chat with Vanity Fair, Dane opened up further about the impact of living a “double life”.
The former Charmed actor, who voluntarily entered rehab in 2011 for addiction to prescription painkillers, explained: “Trying to keep that secret is tough. Eventually, everything always catches up with you.”
Euphoria often explores the ways living a closeted life has affected not only Cal, but his extremely troubled son, Nate (Jacob Elordi).
This week left fans torn between feeling sorry for young Cal and hating on grown-up Cal, who has spent the past two seasons threatening and abusing so many other people in the show.
Time will tell how much more of Cal’s past will come to light as the season progresses.
