\n\tWhile the actor went viral<\/a> in 2020 after a director was caught disparaging the then-25-year-old\u2019s \u201ctiny\u201d apartment during a virtual audition, Gage is dishing a little deja vu<\/a> today after hopping on camera from an apartment he\u2019s sharing with \u201cfive Harvard guys\u201d while shooting an as-yet-unannounced film in New York.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s a small production and they only gave me a budget of like, $2,000 for the month,\u201d Gage says with a shrug. \u201cSo I\u2019m kind of living in this dark loft space for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe irony isn\u2019t lost on the actor, who\u2019s made a name for himself in shows like The White Lotus, You, and Fargo, and films like Smile 2<\/a> and Companion<\/a> in the years since the caught-on-cam controversy. His famous friends (and an infamous marriage<\/a>) have made Gage an almost-household name<\/a>, and even if you can\u2019t place him, everybody has seen that pretty, boyish face somewhere.<\/p>\n \n\tAnd yet, here is the famous, successful, beautiful Lukas Gage today, crouched under a too-short ceiling in a too-dark room of a too-small place. Can the breakout star just catch a break?<\/p>\n \n\tThe idea of living in a dark place takes on a devastating turn in Gage\u2019s beguiling new memoir, due out October 14. Titled, \u201cI Wrote This for Attention,<\/a>\u201d the book is an unflinchingly frank and feral account of the actor\u2019s chaotic childhood and angsty adolescence bouncing around the beach cities of Southern California, while embarking on a quest for stardom \u2014 and stability. Gage writes candidly about abandonment issues with his absentee father, underage run-ins with the law, and even a stint at a camp for troubled youth, while opening up about the toll that addiction and an unexpected death took on his broken family.<\/p>\n \n\tDespite his self-prescribed \u201cborderline personality disorder,\u201d Gage is an astute and captivating writer, alternating between self-deprecating confessions and revealing recollections on how the relationships in his life \u2014 with his parents, his brothers, girlfriends, and boyfriends \u2014 ultimately shaped the way he approaches his career today. The 320-page book also offers a surprisingly affecting glimpse into the turbulent backstory of a young actor who seemingly has it all.<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tAmazon<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNEW RELEASE\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tI Wrote This for Attention\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u25ba Available on hardcover and for Kindle\t<\/p>\n \n\tGage started working on the book during the actor\u2019s strike in 2023<\/a>, culling details from old journal entries and notes saved on his computer. Though he initially wanted to turn the stories into a novel or book of essays, literary agents eventually convinced him to write his \u201cpremature memoir,\u201d as he calls it. Still, he quickly realized it was the right thing to do.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI always thought it was kind of interesting to have these stories from a person who hasn\u2019t figured it all out and is still processing things,\u201d he tells Rolling Stone, citing recent releases from Julia Fox<\/a> and Jennette McCurdy<\/a> as example of books he \u201cconnected\u201d with. \u201cI like to hear from those people, rather than people that have these huge, giant careers that feel so far away and unattainable to me.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tI Wrote This for Attention is at once amusing and uncomfortable, with stories on first kisses and first auditions sharing pages with darker recollections of being bullied as a child and later sexually assaulted as a teen in acting camp. Gage says while some memories were hazier than others, everything he put down in the book was true.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cMy life was that chaotic and crazy, but the thing about it is, it\u2019s still universal, with a lot of these themes like mental health and family and sexuality \u2014 these are things that people can connect to, even if they grew up in different situations than I did,\u201d he says. \u201cPart of my brain was like, \u2018I\u2019m gonna make the dialog really fun and entertaining,\u2019 and obviously I don\u2019t remember exactly what was said when I was five years old, but there are a couple of lines and things in there that I\u2019m like, \u2018I\u2019ll never forget the way my mom or my dad told me that.’\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of author<\/p>\n \n\tThe lighter moments in the memoir are just as memorable as the headline-making ones. In true Gage fashion (read: overly dramatic with a side of sass), the book opens with a Noah Centineo quote(!) followed by an anecdote about four-year-old Lukas parading around a party in lingerie and Playboy Bunny ears. Turns out the guy who famously flashed his ass on The White Lotus has always been this cheeky.<\/p>\n \n\tOne of the more poignant passages finds Gage recalling his childhood obsession with Britney Spears, writing about a night where he snuck off to the bathroom to listen to Spears\u2019 ballad, \u201cLucky,\u201d while his older brother and his \u201cDead Kennedys\u201d-loving bandmates stood outside the door laughing. \u201cI stayed mute and motionless in the tub, quietly withering while I waited for them to get tired of teasing me,\u201d Gage writes. \u201cBut they kept going. Torture and death in a jar it was.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWireImage<\/p>\n \n\tGage says he\u2019s since heard from many gay friends who share similar experiences revolving around their love for Spears, including Benito Skinner, who used \u201cLucky\u201d on the first episode of his Prime Video series, Overcompensating<\/a>. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI think there\u2019s something so inherently universal about Britney Spears and queer youth and the impact that she made on us,\u201d Gage says. \u201cI feel like a lot of queer kids could connect to her and that song, \u2018Lucky,\u2019 in particular, about having a mask and hiding who you really are and putting on a front and, you know, having a smile on, but inside, feeling completely lonely. I have so many memories of that CD<\/a> in particular,\u201d he continues, \u201clike listening to it in the bathtub, and having my mom take me to Barnes & Noble, and me hiding under the checkout counter so she could say it was for her.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWere there other artists that were seminal to his adolescence? \u201cStacie Orrico, I loved her a lot,\u201d Gage blurts out, offering an unexpected throwback. \u201cShe had those two songs that I really, really loved.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHis biggest \u201cnumber one\u201d besides Spears though, was Gwen Stefani. \u201cI was obsessed with No Doubt, and I was obsessed with the song \u2018Bubble Pop Electric\u2019 [from 2004\u2019s Love. Angel. Music. Baby<\/a>],\u201d the actor says. \u201cWhen it came out, she was the coolest thing in the world to me.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cShe DMed me recently,\u201d Gage adds, with a smug smile of someone who\u2019s now on the fringes of circles his heroes run in. \u201cThe little boy in me, like, almost shit his pants.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWhile Gage comes across as confident and carefree in person, the actor admits that sharing his coming out story in the book \u2014 in addition to stories about his failed relationships \u2014 didn\u2019t come so easily. In fact, he initially tried to play down some over-the-top anecdotes about his life, just as he writes that had tried playing down parts of his personality to appease an ex. But the guy whose first notable film role was in Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse has learned that subtlety has never been his strong suit \u2014 and trying to suppress his different sides and interests has never led to a desired outcome.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cEverything that I tried so hard to diminish about myself, like my eccentricities and my impulsiveness and my odd behavior were ultimately the things that led me to where I am, and things that set me apart from everybody else that was auditioning for these roles,\u201d he offers. The lesson he wants to impart to young fans and readers: \u201cThe things that you try to hide from people and not let be seen, are usually the things that you really need to lean into.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tAmazon<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAUDIOBOOK VERSION\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tI Wrote This for Attention\t\t<\/p>\n \n\tReaders will discover endless lessons and takeaways from I Wrote This for Attention, which is remarkably relatable. Gage says he\u2019s still learning too. While writing the memoir was instrumental in helping him move forward from childhood trauma and scarred experiences, the actor insists he\u2019s far from fully healed. If anything, releasing the book has made him more aware of the issues he needs to continue working on.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI feel like I can look back and be really proud of that kid that moved up to LA to live in a motel and had no connections and somehow made it as a working actor,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I don\u2019t want to be one of those people \u2014 and I\u2019ve worked with them before \u2014 that feel like they have it all figured out, and that their shit doesn\u2019t stink. Like, once you do that, your art and your creativity suddenly become jaded and weird.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI do think I often fuel this dark part of my brain too much and lean into the negativity and the bad shit people say about me online, or about my acting, or about my writing,\u201d he admits. \u201cI try to not hold onto that too closely. And I think I\u2019m getting better about that. But also, as Jennifer Coolidge says in my book, \u2018Who cares?’\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tI Wrote This for Attention is available now at Amazon<\/a> and Barnes & Noble<\/a>. Gage also narrates the audiobook version of his memoir, which you can listen to for free with a free trial to Audible here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":183615,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[353,49,48,75,92523,5023,5024],"class_list":{"0":"post-183614","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-lukas-gage","13":"tag-noads","14":"tag-rs-recommends"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183614\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"lukas](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-rollingstone-2022\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
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