As soon as it premiered in 2019, Euphoria was an instant hit with Gen Z. The first-season finale delivered its biggest audience (at the time) to HBO, which comes to no surprise – it seems as if everyone and their mother is watching the Zendaya-led show. When it was renewed for a second season in August 2019, it generated instant buzz, and additions to the cast were announced in August 2021. One of these was Dominic Fike, who plays Elliott, a character who has generated strong reactions from fans. But who is the actor behind one of the hottest problematic characters currently on TV? Read on to find out.
- He’s a singer/songwriter.
Do you remember the song “3 Nights?” The 2018 single, which hit number one on the charts and is still beloved today, was written and performed by Fike himself. “3 Nights” was released in October 2018 as the lead single from his first EP, Don’t Forget About Me, Demos. Fike initially released the EP as an independent artist in 2017 when he was only 21 years old, and it started a record label bidding war, ultimately leading to him signing with Columbia Records, who re-released the EP. He’s loved music for a majority of his life, learning to play guitar at 10 years old, and uploaded his first song on YouTube in high school. Today, Fike has 9,807,704 monthly listeners on Spotify, has been praised by Billie Eilish, and has collaborated with Justin Bieber, Paul McCartney, and Remi Wolf, among others. I’m a longtime fan of Fike’s music and my personal favorite tracks of his are “Chicken Tenders,” “Vampire,” “Babydoll,” and “Wurli.”
- He’s dated some of your favorite actresses.
Fike started dating Diana Silvers (of Booksmart, Ma, and Space Force fame) in 2020, and she even starred in the “Vampire” music video. The two have since split. Now, he’s rumored to be dating Euphoria costar Hunter Schafer, and I don’t know who I’m more jealous of.
- He’s close friends with a major pop star.
Fike is friends with none other than Halsey themself. They acted in the music video for his track “Phone Numbers” in 2019, and he collaborated with them on the aptly named “Dominic’s Interlude” from their 2020 album Manic. Most recently, Halsey tweeted that Fike thought they were 35 years old when they first met using a scene from Euphoria (I mean, at least she watches the show each week, right?).
- He released his first EP from prison
When Don’t Forget About Me, Demos was first released, Fike was serving time in jail. He recorded the EP while under house arrest after being charged with the battery of a police officer. When Fike was sent to prison for violating house arrest, he explained in an interview on his YouTube channel that he learned to create music in different ways. “The sink had a tone, it had a note to it,” he said, “I called my producer, Capi, one day… I banged on the sink and sang all the way back to the phone and I called him and asked him what note it was and he said it was a C major. And from there, I was able to play the note and sing up to the C major scale. Then I was able to write music that way.”
5. He has a great sense of humor.
Not only is he talented and cool – Fike is also hilarious. He’s charmed many fans with his chaotic energy and effortless humor. “The hold this man has over me is ridiculous in the best way,” one fan commented on a compilation of his funniest moments. His live streams are iconic for their uniquely unhinged vibe, and he has plenty of iconic one liners from interviews.
While Euphoria may be the first time he’s flexing is acting muscles, Fike has been on the music scene for years. Now that the internet is putting a (very pretty) face to the (very pretty) voice, his pre-existing fanbase is only growing (and the fact that Gen Z is still falling for Fike after watching him as Elliott in episode four is proof of that). For Dominic Fike, it’s only up from here.