Anna Van Patten Talks Fake BBLs & Deleted Euphoria Scenes

Anna Van Patten initially had trouble imagining herself in a show like Euphoria, but her big sister saw it for her immediately. The 26-year-old enlisted her sister Grace, who starred in Tell Me Lies, to help with her self-tape audition for a mysterious project called L.A. Nights, which she quickly learned was actually the long-awaited third season of HBO’s hit drama series. “I didn't think there was a reality in which I would ever get to be a part of this show,” Van Patten tells Elite Daily. “But right after I filmed my audition with Grace, she said to me, ‘I feel like you're going to get this.’ And she's never said that to me before.”

How right she was. Not only did Van Patten land the part of the lovable-but-naive stripper Kitty in the show’s final season, but her performance struck such a chord with creator Sam Levinson that the character was expanded well beyond its conception as a smaller side role.

“Originally, I wasn't supposed to be on as long as I was,” Van Patten says. “Whenever I got sent a new scene, I was always like, ‘Oh wait, I'm going to be in this part, too? This is so exciting!’”

However, not everything that Van Patten filmed made it into the final edit. She confirms footage that leaked online of herself in a convertible with Alexa Demie and Rosalía was going to show “Maddy taking Magick and Kitty under her wing as she starts building their online presence.” Additionally, she reveals she worked with Sydney Sweeney in a Silver Slipper moment that got edited out. “There were scenes with Kitty and Cassie that didn't make it,” Van Patten says. “But I think it all serves the story.”

Thankfully, her most important co-star was too big to remove from the show. In her finale scenes, Kitty struts around the Silver Slipper showing off her comically enlarged backside after getting a BBL. Van Patten says the prosthetic was “a whole process” to get made. “They took a scan of my butt and made a cast with this gooey material, like papier-mâché,” she says. “I wore that prosthetic for 10 days to shoot that full scene. It was heavy, and putting it on was a whole thing. I wasn’t allowed to sit with it on.”

All that effort paid off, with even Van Patten’s co-stars being thrown off by the convincing booty. “A lot of people on set thought it was real,” she says. “Some of the girls were like, ‘Wait, is this your real butt?’ I was like, ‘No.’ But for some reason it felt very grounding. I think because the weight distributed in an interesting way. So it felt kind of right, honestly.”

Van Patten also thinks Kitty’s uncertain ending feels cosmically correct. She’s last seen running out of the Silver Slipper with Bishop and Maddy after her boss Alamo is shot to death. Though Kitty’s fate is left ambiguous, Van Patten believes her character exiting the strip club is meant to send a metaphorical message.

“I'd like to think that this is her leaving that life,” Van Patten says. “I kind of hoped she would have left after the DEA bust in the van or after she was traumatized in Episode 4, but she needed something bigger, like seeing multiple people shot in front of her, to really shake her out of it. I think her leaving at the end was her entering a new chapter — a better one.”

Now that Euphoria is officially over, Van Patten shares her unexpected pole-dancing playlist and the classic ‘90s movie she and Grace are dying to remake.

Elite Daily: What was your favorite song to pole-dance to when you were practicing for this role?

Anna Van Patten: I tried listening to rap music and stuff you’d typically hear in a club, but then Sam put on that Ann-Margret song (“Thirteen Men”), and that really unlocked something for me with Kitty. I took that and really tried to delve deep into Old Hollywood. So I would listen to a lot of older show tunes and movie scores while dancing.

ED: Did you keep anything from the set?

AVP: No. I had the option to take home my butt cast, but I thought it was a little too big and I had no idea what I’d even do with it. So I left that behind. But I did buy myself some of the Pleasers that Kitty wore on set, and I still have those with me. Whenever I put them on, I am reminded of her.

ED: What’s the movie you’ve watched the most in your life?

AVP: I've seen Some Like It Hot so many times. I grew up watching that movie, and it is such a comfort. Marilyn Monroe has always been such a huge inspiration for me.

ED: What’s been a recent TV obsession for you?

AVP: I just had a big Danny McBride kick and watched all his shows, because I think he’s so funny.

ED: What song do you think will be at the top of your Spotify Wrapped this year?

AVP: Well, last year it was “Better Days” by Graham Nash, and I have a feeling it will probably be the same as this year. I love that song so much.

ED: Who’s an actor you’d love to work with someday?

AVP: There are so many. But I’ll say Jessie Buckley; she is amazing.

ED: Do you and Grace have a dream movie you want to make together?

AVP: We always talked about how we wanted to do a remake of Practical Magic, but now they’re actually making the sequel so I don’t know if we can. But we’d always go back and forth about who would play Nicole Kidman and who would play Sandra Bullock.

ED: Did you come to a conclusion on who’d play who?

AVP: Yeah, I'd be Nicole Kidman. I think Grace could do both parts so well, but I think I'd probably lean more towards Nicole Kidman's character.

ED: Is there a movie or TV genre you haven’t done that you’d like to try?

AVP: I grew up loving horror movies, so that would be really fun. I'd love to do a period piece and get to wear the costumes. I'd love to do an action movie, or a downright comedy would be really fun. I want to try everything.

ED: Did you have a favorite Euphoria character before you joined the cast?

AVP: I always loved watching Colman [Domingo] as Ali — whenever he was on the screen, it was mesmerizing. I was so excited when I found out I had a scene with him. But also, whenever the girls would all get together, that was always the most fun to watch.

ED: What are you manifesting right now?

AVP: Now that the Euphoria chapter's finally finished, I feel like I can energetically move into a different headspace. I hope to work with more directors who I respect, and play characters that challenge me and teach me about myself. I want to keep growing and learning about myself to become the best version of me I can be.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.