Let’s talk about an intense kickoff to a new season.
The third season of HBO’s “Euphoria” launched dramatically with an electrifying scene. The premiere concluded with Alamo Brown, a new crime boss portrayed by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, aiming a gun at Rue, played by Zendaya, and shooting an apple perched on her head.
This gripping moment was captured in Palmdale, California, during a challenging nighttime shoot. “We filmed it on a hill at midnight in the freezing cold, with the wind blowing at about 35 miles per hour,” Akinnuoye-Agbaje shared in an exclusive interview with Page Six. The conditions were far from comfortable, he explained, chuckling about the unusual attire he wore. “I was standing there in some Speedos and cowboy boots. So, as exotic as it might have looked, it was freezing cold!”
Despite the scene’s realism, Akinnuoye-Agbaje clarified that the apple was indeed present, but there was no actual gunfire directed at Zendaya. “It was all camera trickery,” he assured.
He noted that “there was definitely an apple” in the scene, but he didn’t really shoot anything at Zendaya; that was “camera trickery.”
Working with the Emmy-winning actress was “a lovely time,” the “Lost” actor told Page Six.
He praised Zendaya as “generous, very intelligent, and not precious with any of the material.”
“She can turn it on and off,” he said. “When we have to chuck mud in her face, she’s saying, ‘Chuck the mud in my face!’ That’s what you want with your scene partner – somebody who is prepared to be committed to the scene.”
Premiering in 2019 and starring Zendaya, Jacob Elordi and Sydney Sweeney, the Sam Levinson-led series initially followed drug addict Rue through her high school years. Returning after a long hiatus, Season 3 finds her five years later, as she’s in debt to drug dealer Laurie (played by Martha Kelly) and working as her drug mule. In the Season 3 premiere, Laurie sent Rue on an errand to deliver drugs to the strip club tycoon, Alamo Brown.
As she entered his house, where he was throwing a party, Rue was initially impressed by his lavish digs and his bevy of barely-dressed women. She even asked Alamo for a job, thinking that he seemed like a better employer than Laurie.
But, Rue landed on his bad side when one of his employees dropped dead from the drugs that Rue delivered. Although Rue explained that she didn’t bring bad drugs on purpose, in retaliation, Alamo brought her outside to shoot an apple off of her head.
“The audience might wonder, does he really intend to kill her?” said Akinnuoye-Agbaje.
He told Page Six that he views the scene as “a test of her character” because “had she flinched and run, I think he might have shot her.”
The “Oz” actor pointed out that this is “obviously” not the first time that Alamo has done this, since his crew acted nonchalant about it.
“He is a marksman, as we’ll see throughout the series. This guy knows how to fire a bullet and hit its target. So, he’s confident in his abilities and to shoot the apple off of her head.”
The “Game of Thrones” actor said that scene is the “beginning of their relationship” and it’s Alamo “testing” Rue to see if she is “eligible” to enter his world.
“This is the world that she is now stepping into. I think it’s a great prelude to the rest of the season.”
Akinnuoye-Agbaje told Page Six that he thinks that Alamo “sees something of himself” in Rue.
“He recognizes her ambition, her courage,” as she walks into “his domain, his kingdom.”
As Season 3 goes on, he teased, “We see the depths of the darkness the Alamo’s world really entails. Whether she can navigate that world or not, we’ll see.”
“Euphoria” airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
