Lukas Gage unveiled as Attitude’s latest cover boy – as star talks The White Lotus, Smile 2 and Companion
"You want to reach people, connect," says the star, reflecting on his string of buzzy performances, adding: "I pick things I gravitate towards. I’m lucky some of those things gravitated towards others"
Actor Lukas Gage, whose string of headline-generating roles include everything from Smile 2 to The White Lotus, has been revealed as Attitude’s latest cover star.
“There are projects that aren’t zeitgeisty that no one ever knows about!” joked the 29-year-old, who will next appear alongside Sophie Thatcher in the hotly-anticipated psychological horror-thriller film Companion, in UK cinemas 31 January 2025.
“But it’s amazing that things resonate,” added the star who came out publicly as gay in 2023.
Alongside his fresh, fashion-forward shoot, the actor granted Attitude an in-depth, wide-ranging interview in which he discussed everything from his viral Covid-19-era audition video to his brief marriage to Kim Kardashian’s hairstylist Chris Appleton and working with an array A-list co-stars – from Jennifer Coolidge to Pamela Anderson! – on some of the most zeitgeisty TV shows and films of the decade.
“An ‘All Star’ season special? They could totally do it” – Lukas Gage on The White Lotus
Of Companion, the star told us: “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,” he added. “I can’t give [away] much more than that. But it’s a fun ride.”
After appearing in season one of critical hit The White Lotus in 2021, Lukas also manifested a return for an ‘All Stars’ season of the Mike White show.
“Oh my God, 100 per cent,” the star said. “I’d do anything with Mike White, or The White Lotus. It’s probably my favourite thing I’ve ever done.”
He added of an “all-star season special — they could totally do it. It hasn’t been done before [with a scripted show]. And I think it would make sense, because Mike White did Survivor and The Amazing Race, which I believe both had ‘all-star’ seasons.”
On his recent hit film Smile 2, Lukas reflected: “Firstly, what I love about Smile is there’s humour in it. 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.
“I have a lot of friends that are that level of fame. 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.”
Issue 362 of Attitude magazine is available to order here, and alongside 15 years of back issues on the free Attitude app.