If you’re feeling like you’ve seen the name “Lukas Gage” pop up more and more lately, well, you’re not the only one.
In the last 24 hours alone, it’s been announced that Gage will be part of the ensemble of the Road House remake (with Jake Gyllenhaal stepping into the Patrick Swayze role), and that he’ll be in the buzzy indie thriller How To Blow Up A Pipeline, which is set to debut at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival.
Beyond that, Gage is slated for a major role in the fourth season of Netflix‘s hit stalker thriller You, a supporting part in a splashy biopic about the man who discovered The Beatles called Midas Man, and an intriguing dark comedy project opposite Zachary Quinto called Down Low about “a deeply repressed man, the uninhibited young man that gives him a happy ending, and all the lives they ruin along the way.” Um, we’re in!
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But it’s not like this breakout moment is out of nowhere; Gage has been steadily putting in the work for the better part of the last decade. And we’re pleased to report that many of the roles and projects he’s taken on have been decidedly queer—so much so that he made headlines when a Twitter user assumed he was straight, and he quipped back with, “you don’t know my alphabet.”
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Related: Actor Lukas Gage pushes back on people assuming he’s straight
Out of respect Gage’s decision to not publicly define his sexuality, we’re just going to go ahead and say that we’re grateful the dreamy actor has played so many gay-friendly roles over the years.
Ahead of this next big stage of his career, we’ve assembled a refresher course on his most notable projects and moments thus far. In other words, start stanning now, because pretty soon everyone‘s going to be talking about him.
Euphoria
This dark teen drama phenomenon has made stars out of most of its cast and earned Zendaya a surprise Best Actress In A Drama Emmy, so it’s easy to forget that Gage had a small but crucial role as Tyler in its first season. When we meet school “it girl” Maddy (Alexa Demie), she’s fresh out of a breakup with über-jock Nate (Jacob Elordi), so she uses Tyler for revenge sex in a pool… in public… in the middle of a party. But poor Tyler didn’t know what he was in for, and becomes the subject of blackmail and Nate’s violent rage. Like most of the series, it’s an extremely tough watch, but Gage makes Tyler’s pain and fear believable throughout.
Love, Victor
In Hulu’s Love, Simon spin-off series, Gage’s Derek was a recurring character in season one, the boyfriend of Victor’s confidently out friend (and crush), Benji. Victor saw Derek as everything he’s not, and his long-term relationship with Benji was a big wrench in our protagonist’s growing connection with the latter. While the audience is meant to pull for Victor and Benji to end up together, Gage’s charming and assured performance made Derek someone that was hard to root against.
That Viral Audition Video
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By 2020, Gage had already racked up a number of credits, but he became a viral sensation after sharing a snippet of his virtual audition gone wrong. In the clip, the actor is shown prepping his shot while an unnamed director—who clearly believed they were on mute—commented on the “poor” state of Gage’s “tiny apartment.” Major credit to Gage for letting the comment roll off his back, and for shining a light on some of the B.S. that working actors deal with on a daily basis. We’re sure the “mortified” director won’t be forgetting to click that “mute” button any time soon.
The White Lotus
HBO’s winning resort dramedy was all anyone could talk about in the summer of 2021, with plenty of unforgettable characters, like Jennifer Coolidge’s grieving vacationer and Murray Bartlett‘s harried hotel manager, Armond. But we couldn’t take our eyes off of Gage’s surfer-bro Dillon, a relatively small side-character with an outsized impact on the series. We’ll likely never forget the end of the fourth episode, when disgruntled guest Shane (Jake Lacy), storms into the manager’s office, happening upon Armond face first in Dillon’s behind (which Gage has said was something he and Bartlett suggested).
bachy
Am I to understand it is beneath Queerty’s lofty standards to include the bootylingus clip???