Lukas Gage

Gage says the time it takes him to recognize his BPD episodes has shrunk from months to seconds.

“it would take me a couple months to realize that I was being crazy. Then it went down to a week”

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard: Lukas Gage (Jul 6, 2026) · Listen from 1:15:05

Gage says DBT felt childish at first but he now uses its techniques in daily life.

“It just feels like elementary weird work of like checking in with your senses and holding ice cubes if you're upset”

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard: Lukas Gage (Jul 6, 2026) · Listen from 1:14:25

Gage says his attackers escaped consequences because their lawyers argued self-defense after he threw the first punch.

“And they got lawyers that said that technically it was self-defense”

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard: Lukas Gage (Jul 6, 2026) · Listen from 14:30

Gage says five men beat him at a San Diego party, breaking his teeth, nose and orbital bones.

“five guys against me. I, like, broke my teeth, broke my nose, broke my orbitals”

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard: Lukas Gage (Jul 6, 2026) · Listen from 13:35

Gage recounts that Jake Gyllenhaal advised him to loosen his rigid preparation on set.

“treat every take like a rehearsal. Nothing matters. Everything's going to change. We're just rehearsing”

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard: Lukas Gage (Jul 6, 2026) · Listen from 11:32

Gage says Conor McGregor injured his back during filming and that he meant it as a compliment.

“I could say Conor McGregor like fractured my disc”

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard: Lukas Gage (Jul 6, 2026) · Listen from 5:03

Gage says the memoir's title is its most dishonest part because he did not actually write it for attention.

“I think the most dishonest part of the book is the title of the book, really, because I didn't really write it for attention”

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard: Lukas Gage (Jul 6, 2026) · Listen from 1:07:27

Gage credits Armchair Expert with prompting him to attend Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous.

“I really will say that this show was what made me go to slaw”

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard: Lukas Gage (Jul 6, 2026) · Listen from 59:58

Gage objects less to his BPD diagnosis than to how treatment facilities label and medicate vulnerable people.

“stamp them with a label and throw a bunch of drugs at them and that's it”

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard: Lukas Gage (Jul 6, 2026) · Listen from 1:10:24

Gage says watching The White Lotus cast taught him to abandon rigid plans and find fresh choices on the day.

“You're going to find something better on a day that's fresh. The camera loves that”

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard: Lukas Gage (Jul 6, 2026) · Listen from 49:07

Gage says industry pressure, more than family, kept him closeted, warning he would only be cast in gay roles.

“a lot of it came from Hollywood and the industry of being like, do not come out because you're only going to play gay”

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard: Lukas Gage (Jul 6, 2026) · Listen from 39:04

Gage says the wilderness program he was sent to made his behavior worse rather than better.

“I rebelled twice as hard when I came out. I fucking was even more of a nightmare. I didn't trust anybody”

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard: Lukas Gage (Jul 6, 2026) · Listen from 26:00

Gage says heroin was widespread in San Diego when he was young, with several classmates overdosing.

“Heroin was really popular in San Diego. Like by the time I graduated, about eight people in my class had overdosed”

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard: Lukas Gage (Jul 6, 2026) · Listen from 21:01