Take a second to think about some of the biggest cult TV shows of the era: Euphoria, The White Lotus, You. Lukas Gage has been in all three. The past few years have been big for the Californian, who’s even played opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in the Amazon Prime Roadhouse reboot (he describes it as a crazy childhood dream-come-true, but we’ll get to that later).
So it’s no shock he’s a regular on the guestlist at fashion circuit events. This time, it’s Tommy Hilfiger’s store launch in Mykonos. For the big night, Gage wanted a fit that felt signature Tommy: “I'm going all-American classic old school Tommy Hilfiger – like Tommy in the '90s – with a sweater over a shirt to really lean into the prep-school boy feel” he says.
For the look, he collaborated with Mimi Cuttrell, a stylist who dresses everyone from Ariana Grande to Bella Hadid and Normani: “Mimi's an icon. She's just the best,” says Gage. “She knows my style and knows that I like to do ‘looks’ and play around with different styles, but that I also want to feel comfortable and relaxed in whatever I wear.”
When he’s filming, he works on each character's look, too. “I remember on You I wore only Acne Studios," he says. "I made a point that my character only wants to wear suits but wants to feel young and hip, too, so Acne was perfect." Sometimes, he even finds his characters schooling him: “I wore a skirt in my latest Netflix show, Dead Boy Detectives. I remember thinking I can't pull off a designer skirt. I'll look like I'm trying so hard. And then by the end, I was like, actually, I can pull this skirt off. Watch, next year you'll see me at the Met in only a skirt.”
Besides clothes, Gage is known for his surfer curls and fresh skin. The San Diego-born actor grew up by the beach, and the sea is his secret: “I feel like jumping in the ocean is the best skincare and haircare routine possible – it makes everyone look so hot,” he says from his hotel room. “We should just fill up a water bottle of ocean water, leave it in the bathroom and spray ourselves with it everyday.”
When he’s not by the coast, there are a few brands he sticks to – which, again, are inspired by the ocean: “For my skin, I love La Mer – I feel like when you travel and you use one of their face masks you’re just completely refreshed.” For his hair, which he describes as a nineties Hugh Grant nod, it’s all about texture. “The messier the better,” says Gage. “I’ve discovered the best thing is a bit of Bumble and Bumble sea salt spray followed by some texturising cream.”
No grooming routine is complete without a fragrance. At the moment, Gage’s favourite brand is Who Is Elijah. “It's this Australian perfumer that’s unisex and it has these really interesting light scents that are a little bit leathery and a little bit musky but not overpowering.”
It seems he’s always been big on aromas: “When I'm doing sense memory work, I find scents the strongest,” explains Gage. “Like the smell of salty air reminds me of White Lotus because when filming my whole room just smelled like salt water. Smelling something can centre you and transport you wherever you need to be.”
Aside from scent, though, he’s got over a decades’ worth of journals to help – in many of them, Jake Gyllenhaal’s Donnie Darko is a hot topic. So working with him felt kinda mystical. “I'll never be as starstruck as I was on the first day filming Roadhouse because [Gyllenhaal] was such an important part of my childhood,” says Gage. “It was also one of those perfect life imitating art situations – my character idolised Jake's character, so I was like, no acting required.”
Because, ultimately, Gage has to work in between all of these sea satyr episodes. January 2025 will see the release of his sci-fi film, Companion, and the unnerving horror Smile 2 is out later this year. Other than that, it’s all on the DL for Lukas Gage: “ I’m jumping into some different kinds of projects that I'm gonna start shooting soon. I'm not allowed to say anything. But it's going to be something very different that you wouldn't expect me to do.”