Lukas Gage Is Having a Moment, but Says 'Authenticity Is Expensive'

Early on in his success, his authenticity was questioned when it was felt he was being coy about his sexuality. "You don't know my alphabet," he said in response to a question about it in 2022, suggesting that he was above definition. He told the Times he had lost an agent over that very point. "Stop dyeing your hair, stop wearing weird clothes and pick a lane: gay, bi or straight. It's too confusing," the agent told him.

In the ensuing two years he did embrace his queer side, starring in the film "Down Low," which he co-wrote with his writing partner Phoebe Snow in which he played a sex worker hired by Zachary Quinto who attempt to hook-up with a third man, only to accidentally kill him in the process. Even more famously, he married celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton after the pair were seen vacationing in Mexico. But it wasn't to be – the pair split after nine months and divorced. The couple's Vegas wedding, though, received much publicity due to the fact that Appleton's client and good friend Kim Kardashian officiated and Shania Twain serenaded them with "You're Still the One."

And just this past week, Gage appears to be pushing those sexual boundaries again when the Daily Mail reported he was photographed locking lips with Pitch Perfect star Anna Camp, 42, at a SAG-AFTRA party held at the Chateau Marmont on Friday. But while the tabloids are making it seem like it is some sort of burgeoning romance, Gage has a history of such encounters. Last August it was reported that he was spotted at another LA event making out with various celebrities, to which the actor attempted clarity by saying: "Grow up, it was like 2 ppl!!" Still, PDAs appear to be part of Gage's DNA.
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In the Attitude cover story, he spoke to the magazine about his recent film roles. In the past few years, Gage appeared in the terrific indie film "How to Blow Up a Pipeline," Doug Lyman's remake of "Road House," opposite Jake Gylenhaal, and the smart second feature in the "Smile" horror franchise in which he plays a drug dealer possessed with the deadly 'smile virus' who bludgeons himself to death in front of the film's heroine, pop sensation Skye Riley (played by the terrific Naomi Scott), who is infected with the 'smile virus' in the process. "Firstly, what I love about 'Smile' is there's humour in it," he explains to Attitude about the appeal of the franchise. "The best films are when you're laughing and scared. A juxtaposition. What I loved about the first 'Smile' is it talks about mental illness. Thematically, a lot of intense conversations that are very real. And then this one was about fame, where private and public intersect, the balance of someone in that position."

Gage also relates to the plight of Skye, who is attempting to balance new-found pop fame with increasingly bizarre events brought on by the virus. "I have a lot of friends that are that level of fame," he tells Attitude. "Watching them struggle to be authentic, be honest with the world and their fans, but also... authenticity is something that needs to be treasured and kept sacred. That's what I felt the character of Skye is dealing with. Wanting to be honest – talking about substance abuse on The Drew Barrymore Show, trying to have her comeback while trying to have some semblance of a normal life and normal friendships, relationships, family dynamic. All those things are either non-existent or completely tainted. It's a cautionary tale."

He also co-stars in the upcoming horror thriller "Companion" (due out on January 31, 2025). The film is produced by Zach Cregger, the actor-turned writer/director who first film was 2023's much buzzed horror/thriller "Barbarian." Cregger does not direct; instead those duties are handled by the film's screenwriter Drew Hancock.

Gage explains to Attitude about the film. "It's by the producers of 'Barbarian.' It's got 'Barbarian' twists and turns, genre-mashing, humour, horror, thriller – everything. It's about a group of friends who go to a lake house, and it goes terribly wrong. I can't give [away] much more than that. But it's a fun ride."