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What’s the story with Lukas Gage? Here’s all we know so far

By · 16 comments · Updated on January 26, 2024
Lukas Gage on the red carpet
credit: Shutterstock

Since his breakout role as Tyler Clarkson on the hit series Euphoria, Lukas Gage has continued to generate buzz in Hollywood.

In the last few weeks, the 27-year-old actor has been making headlines for everything from his scandalous roles on major television shows to his upcoming raunchy comedy Down Low to his rumored relationship with out stylist Chris Appleton.

With his fame continuing to rise, get all the tea on why everyone’s talking about Lukas Gage!

Gage starred in HBO’s White Lotus

Lukas Gage played the role of Dillon, a hotel employee on the HBO series White Lotus. Gage’s character is known for a racy scene in which Dillon, the hotel worker, is caught in a compromising position with Armond, the resort’s manager.

Lukas Gage and Murray Bartlett
credit: HBO

The original script simply called for Dillon and Armond to be caught engaging in sexual activity. Gage and his costar suggested a more explicit sexual encounter between the two male characters to add a more interesting twist to the scene. The two actors worked with an intimacy coach on set to make the activity appear more realistic. The scene is often referred to as one of the most memorable moments from the show’s first season.

Lukas stars in the fourth season of You

Netflix has given us yet another opportunity to enjoy Gage’s provocative work as an emerging actor on the ubiquitous streaming service’s series You. Lukas stars as Adam, a socialite whose public quest for social dominance plays out in his personal life behind closed doors.

Lukas Gage in a kinky scene from episode 2, season 4, of the Netflix series YOU where he gets peed on by a staffer while shirtless wearing goggles

In episode two of season four, Lukas surprised the show’s fans by appearing in yet another edgy scene depicting Adam’s secret penchant for kink. The show’s executive producers and creators expressed the importance of avoiding kink-shaming and giving Gage’s character a sex-positive portrayal.

Lukas supports sex-positivity in television

Gage believes good writing and full character development include expressions of a character’s sexuality. In an interview with People, he stated that including the details of a character’s sex life is part of authentic storytelling.

Lukas Gage won’t be forced into revealing his sexuality

In 2022, a Twitter user mentioned Lukas’ name in a post calling for productions to stop casting heterosexual actors in LGBTQ character roles. Lukas, who has portrayed multiple members of the LGBTQ community onscreen, promptly pointed out that the they had no reason to assume his sexual orientation.

The Twitter user responded by asking Lukas to disclose his sexual orientation. Lukas refused with a simple “No.” Fans immediately weighed in on the social media exchange by pointing out that it is wrong to try to force anyone, including an actor, to come out publicly if the person is not intending to do so on his or her own.

Explaining the bed selfie with Katie Maloney

In February of 2023, Lukas and Vanderpump Rules star Katie Maloney both posted a photo of themselves in bed together. The photo with recently-divorced Maloney immediately raised eyebrows. However, the two quickly dispelled romance rumors by explaining that they are just friends.

According to Lukas, the photo depicted the duo in bed fully clothed while staying awake and talking all night. Lukas explained that he invited Katie to his room after learning that she was attending a party at the hotel at which he and his friends were staying.

Lukas Gage and Chris Appleton are dating?

Gage was recently linked to celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton. The two appeared together in photos on each other’s Instagram accounts after taking a trip to Mexico.

Appleton is openly gay and many outlets were quick to label him and Gage as boyfriends. Afterwards, Gage broke his silence and opened up about the dating rumors to the New York Times, saying:

“If [people] want to think that, they can. I’m a pretty open book about most things in my life, but I have a problem with the culture of everyone needing to know everybody’s business and nothing can be sacred. It’s a weird line that I’m still trying to figure out.”

Without confirming the status of their relationship, Gage and Appleton posed for photos together on the red carpet of a Vanity Fair event on March 8th.

On March 15th, Appleton disclosed he was in love and in a relationship during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show.

“Listen, I’m very happy. Very much in love and I feel very grateful to be able to share my time with someone very special,” he told Barrymore, before adding, “Here’s to love.”

Afterwards, the show flashed a photo of Appleton and Gage from their vacation across the screen. The 39-year-old then confirmed his new beau was Gage by saying: “Yeah, that’s Lukas. That’s in Mexico.”

Lukas crashed Paris Hilton’s wedding

Hotel heiress and veteran reality star Paris Hilton interviewed Gage on her podcast, “This is Paris.” Gage explained that his friend had received a formal invitation to the wedding. Gage’s friend invited him as a plus-one without explaining that the event was a wedding. When Gage arrived, he assumed the event was a party thrown by Hilton for some other occasion.

Actors react to Gage’s controversial audition video

In 2020, Lukas gained support from several of his peers after posting a Zoom audition video. In the video, the director was caught criticizing the size of Gage’s apartment.

The director made the comments prior to realizing he hadn’t muted his microphone. Gage posted the video after receiving encouragement from a trusted friend and Saturday Night Live actress with whom he had shared the video privately.

Gage’s work as a screenwriter

In addition to acting, Lukas Gage is also credited as a writer. Lukas and Euphoria producer Phoebe Fisher co-wrote the gay comedic film Down Low. Gage will also star in the movie alongside Audra McDonald and Zachary Quinto.

In the film, Quinto plays a closeted a man who hires Gage for a full body massage. Things don’t go as planned as the pair make a series of bad decisions while maneuvering through some over-the-top situations.

Lukas Gage and Zachary Quinto wear white jumpers, goggles, and hairnets, staring at each other in front of a yellow wall with a flower print.
Image Credit: ‘Down Low,’ FilmNation Entertainment

Gage recently explained part of his motivation for writing the queer comedy.

“This is not to bash Love, Simon or any of those coming-of-age gay movies, but I want to see queer people and characters and situations where it’s not just about how being gay is okay,” said Gage. “I wanted to situate LGBTQ people in a different genre. I wanted to have queer characters and not just have it be a queer story of ‘it’s okay to be gay and love ourselves.’”

Shock value for a good cause

Lukas Gage will likely continue to add shocking scenes to his resume with the intent of expanding the dialogue around character sexuality in TV shows and films. As productions aim to become more inclusive in their representation of members of the LGBTQ+ community, stigmas faced by many will continue to fade away.

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