Why did Brian ‘Astro’ Bradley quit Euphoria? Actor reportedly left over ‘uncomfortable’ scenes

21 June 2019, 15:43

By Katie Louise Smith

Bradley was replaced by Algee Smith who now plays Chris McKay on the HBO teen drama.

It's safe to say that HBO's Euphoria has cemented itself as 2019's stand out teen drama. Well, at least one of them...

In episode 1, we've already seen multiple sex scenes (including one prosthetic penis courtesy of Eric Dane's character Cal Jacobs) and an abundance of drug use, one overdose and underage house party drinking.

READ MORE: Euphoria soundtrack: What songs were played on the HBO series?

Zendaya even tweeted before the first episode aired, telling her fans that the show contained triggering material and that they should avoid watching if it could affect them in any way.

In fact, Euphoria is so graphic and raw that one actor dropped out after filming the pilot episode. Brian "Astro" Bradley who originally played Chris McKay, Nate's best friend and Cassie's boyfriend, reportedly quit the show soon after filming began.

He was replaced by Algee Smith (The Hate U Give) and his scenes, including the nude sex scene with Sydney Sweeney in the pilot episode, were all reshot.

The reason why Bradley quit is being kept under wraps but, according to The Hollywood Reporter, sources say he was uncomfortable shooting scenes that weren't in the original pilot script. Bradley hasn't spoken out about the reason why he left the show just yet but Smith revealed in an interview with Bossip that there was one particular scene in the pilot episode that he struggled with.

When asked about how difficult it was to film the sex scenes, Smith said: "One of the main things I talk about is — I won’t give it away but I have this scene in one episode and it really challenged me as a man to do that scene. It was an uncomfortable scene for me, but I had to learn how to separate myself and just be the actor because someone might be dealing with that type."

I had to get over my masculinity issues, as a black man we often have to realize it’s okay to be in this position for a minute. It’s not something that makes you less of a man but some things we just don’t feel comfortable with, like some men don’t feel okay crying."

It's not yet known what scene Smith was talking about but it could be one of the scenes that made Bradley uncomfortable.

Euphoria episode 2 will air this Sunday on HBO at 10pm.