Lukas Gage says being in closet ‘can be fun’ until it ‘eats away at you’
Actor Lukas Gage. (Getty)
Lukas Gage (Image: Getty)
Lukas Gage has said being in the closet “can be fun” to begin with, but soon “it starts to eat away at you”.
The actor, who previously said he is “90% gay, 10% straight”, said coming out brought him a sense of relief and freedom, and helped him do better work with the “right people”.
In an E! News interview, the star, who was married to Strictly Come Dancing star Chris Appleton, reflected on the pressure of keeping his sexuality private and the shift he felt once he was open.
Gage said he felt comfortable with those closest to him, but worried about how he might be judged by people outside his circle. “I was comfortable with my sexuality with the people that I cared about. It was the people that didn’t know me that I was the most fearful about…,” he said.
He described the moment of release he felt after coming out publicly, saying “it was like I could take a deep breath.”
Lukas Gage on secrecy and relief
Gage also spoke about the emotional toll of hiding, saying it can start out feeling exciting before becoming exhausting.
“At first, having a secret can be fun and it can feel like you’re mysterious. Then it starts to eat away at you and you just can’t keep up with it anymore,” he said.
He added that being open had a practical impact on his career and the people he chose to collaborate with. “Just being upfront was the thing that allowed me to be more free [and] allowed my work to be better and allowed me actually to work with the right people. It aligned me in the right way…,” he said.
Work, boundaries and being upfront
Gage also drew a clear line about workplace acceptance. “If people don’t want to work with me because of how I identify or who I have sex with, they’re probably people I don’t want to work with anyway,” he said.
Gage is known for roles in HBO’s Euphoria and The White Lotus, and has also appeared in Netflix’s You and the horror hit Smile. He went viral in 2020 after a director’s hot-mic Zoom comment about his apartment was shared. He married celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton in 2023; the pair later separated and divorced.
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