Lukas Gage ‘dry-heaved’ on set making ‘terrifying’ Smile 2

The White Lotus actor Lukas Gage has revealed why he was left feeling “sick to his stomach” while filming Smile 2.

The 28-year-old star is playing an as-yet untitled role in the follow-up to hit 2022 horror flick Smile, but he struggled with quite how “gory and disgusting” the film is.

Speaking to Sirius XM’s The Jess Cagle Show while promoting his current film Road House, Gage described the sequel as “so terrifying”.

“If you love the first movie, you’re gonna love this one,” he confirmed. “It was the first time I’ve ever been on a set where I was genuinely afraid, and I actually got sick to my stomach in one take.”

“I didn’t think I would. I just, it was so gory and so disgusting,” he added, describing how he actually “vomited off-camera” while filming one scene.

However, in a recent conversation with The Hollywood Reporter at the Road House US premiere, Gage clarified that he “dry-heaved” rather than puked, but did so because he is a “wimp” when it comes to horror movies.

“I was really shocked how intense it is on the day. You just think, ‘Oh, it’s acting, it’s gonna be fine,’ but that movie is so scary. The whole crew was terrified,” he explained.

“That smile itself is just so creepy and then you throw the most gory scenes on top of it, I just, yeah, I have a weak stomach too. I’m a wimp.”

The first Smile film starred Sosie Bacon as Rose Cotter, a therapist who meets a woman named Laura who is traumatised after recently witnessing her professor take their own life.

Laura, played by Caitlin Stasey, is convinced that she is being followed by a paranormal entity that is manifesting itself in people smiling intently at her, and is foreboding her death.

The film then follows Rose as she begins to experience the same demonic premonitions as Laura.

Teasing what’s in store for fans in Smile 2, Gage continued: “I don’t say this about a lot of things that I do, ’cause I’m the biggest critic ever — I am so proud of it, and I think it’s so scary, and I think [director] Parker Finn did it again.

“He just takes it to the next level and we have some really cool cameos happening in this movie.”.

Lukas Gage is one of Hollywood’s fastest-rising out LGBTQ actors

Aside from working on Smile and Road House, Lukas Gage is busy batting away dating rumours.

The queer actor was recently linked to Saltburn star Archie Madekwe, after jokingly referring to him as his “husband”.

Yet he has since declared that the pair are “just friends”.

Meanwhile, Gage’s ex-husband Chris Appleton appears to have moved on, too – he is reportedly dating art dealer Federico Debernardi.

Gage and Appleton divorced back in November six months after getting married.