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There's a telling instance in the actor's new book where he calls it a "premature autobiography". It's a self-deprecating joke, of course, but it's also true. Gage isn't extremely famous – at least not yet. Chances are, though, if you've seen him then you will remember him. In 2020, he went viral after sharing an tryout recording where the director – forgetting he wasn't on mute – was heard judging his living arrangements. "These poor people live in these small apartments," he states, before Gage steps in to let him know he can hear every word. The next year, Gage appeared in the first season of The White Lotus: in one scene, his role Dillon is discovered by a visitor standing completely undressed in the manager's office, while said manager engages in a sexual act on him.

"I thought: I don't have too much to do in the show so I'd better make an impression on it big," he remarks with a grin today. "I wanted to give people something to remember me by – and I did!"

Chaotic Characters and Existence

Gage excels in characters whose lives are chaotic and unstable – just like his own. That life is all laid on the line in his autobiography, which – here comes another modest remark – is titled I Wrote this Book for Attention. Although comically entertaining, its content is far from light. We start with Gage's emotions of rejection by his father, then move on to drug use, molestation, family dysfunction, dependency, personality disorders, shame, rocky romances and heartbreak. What we aren't shown all that much of is the glamour of fame. Gage readily acknowledges he is at the start of his profession. He has no great reserves of wisdom to share on achievement. So what was the reason of penning a memoir?

"I think it's therapeutic for me to share my journey," he says over a video link from New York. "During the entertainment industry strike I had the free time to really delve and go profound, so I just said: why not."

Early Years and Validation

Gage, 30, was raised in San Diego, and from an young age he was aware of his constant need for approval. He recalls a gathering where he appeared, aged four, wearing heels and Playboy bunny ears; in especial, he recalls being hurt by his dad's evident disgust at what he was doing. Their relationship never really healed – Gage's dad moved out and became increasingly remote with his sons (Gage has two siblings) before settling down with a new family.

Gage found it difficult to fit in at school. He was a born actor, but this meant it was often hard to know who the true Lukas was. "I was constantly trying on different personas and personalities, which I think was quite polarising for people," he says. It also had its advantages. Gage could easily take on the persona of a clean-living football player while secretly stocking his backpack up with alcohol at the back of the shop. He was sometimes compensated by classmates to call up and imitate their parents to get them out of class. "Transforming into different people was effortless to me," he says.

Addiction and Household Challenges

The book addresses dependency – mainly his older brother's battles with drugs that transform the cool brother he idolised into a frail shell, but also his mother's obsession with casino slot machines. An initial win meant the household could manage to make the down payment on a bigger house, but Gage laughs when I ask if she really profited from betting. "In the end, how much she used was definitely a lot more than that."

It is funny, he says. Until she had read the book, his mum hadn't really reconciled with this aspect of her personality. "She spoke to my other brothers, like, 'Do you guys think this way too?' And they were all like, 'Naturally, we've been saying this since we were kids.'"

Gage has a lot of affection for his mum, who obviously raised her kids up in difficult circumstances. But she had a difficulty reading it. "She felt as if she was unsuccessful as a mother and I did not want her to feel that way whatsoever. I feel like even though there's these turbulent things that occurred to me, hard things, I actually appreciated the way that I grew up."

Discovering Identity and Abuse

Gage didn't start to locate his true self until he was sent to an acting summer camp as a child, where being loud, theatrical and attention-seeking was actually supported. The time was transformative in good ways, but also in a terrible one. One night, he was joined in his tent by a instructor who told Gage and a girl camper to kiss, remove their garments and rub their selves against each other while he pleasured himself. For years afterwards, he tried to dismiss the guilt it left him with.

"As with a lot of people who experience being molested, I felt like there was a willingness on my part because my body just checked out. I knew it was wrong. I knew that the situation should not be taking place. But I just ploughed through it."

Doubt and Professional Path

Gage is tough on himself in the book – and still is. He admits to searching out "dark critiques" of himself on the internet. "I regret that I don't always regard my acting and work in the best light," he says. "I desire I could have more compassion with that part of myself."

Yet he acknowledges that this self-criticism motivates him forward too. In high school, he appeared in a skin care commercial and spent the day on set inquiring about every query possible about mic positioning and the job of crew. Despite his mum's concerns, he left San Diego for Hollywood at the age of 18, residing in the Alta Cienega Motel where his hero Jim Morrison lived, on and off, between 1968 and 1970 (online comments – "Avoid completely from this DUMP!" – indicate it might not have been the most luxurious of lodgings).

Gage's big break should have arrived when he landed a small role in Mad Men, as Sally Draper's love interest. He told his entire household about it, but during a costume fitting he was forced to reveal the tattoos he'd had inked on his sides, spine and calf. "I had these agents telling to me: how could you damage this? How could you mess this up? I don't think that was the best thing for a teenager to hear when they've just missed out on something that big."

These days, such markings would be covered up in minutes, but back then he was dismissed and back to square one. The relentless rounds of tryouts and refusals were brutal, but at least he had been trained well for them. "If I ever got rejected for a job, I would always feel: it's fine, it's not as bad as my dad rejecting me for another family and child," he remarks.

Persistence and Breakthrough

Gage continued. The tale of how he lied, begged and cheated to get an audition for Assassination Nation, which ultimately resulted in a role in the popular series Euphoria (as Tyler Clarkson, bruised and in a support) and then The White Lotus, could take up a book in itself. Gage recalls the oddity of filming The White Lotus in 2020, sequestered in a luxury Hawaii hotel while the health crisis and the US election raged on. It was actually Gage, along with fellow actor Murray Bartlett, who suggested the idea that their intimate scene should be something a bit extra – and show runner Mike White readily approved. Gage laughs recalling his mum's response. "She sent me a text, like, 'Such a cute rear, but maybe next time give me a warning that's going to occur when I'm viewing with my friends.'"

It was while on set that Gage shared fellow cast members the audition video in which his home was criticized. Their response – surprised, entertained, supportive – persuaded him to share it online. He wasn't ready for the feedback it got: numerous news headlines, outpourings of backing from peers and unknown people alike, and a crusade against the director in question, none of which Gage had any say over. "I felt like people were much more mad about it than I was, which confused me," he {