Where this was said
Acting Career: American Vandal, Sam Levinson, and White Lotus Origins
At 51:57 · chapter starts 49:50
Gage's entry into acting came via a Compound W warts commercial in high school that he tried desperately to hide from classmates — gay subtext and all. A recurring role on American Vandal and a kids' show led him to write a heartfelt letter to Sam Levinson after watching Another Happy Day and recognising his family. Levinson was in New Orleans and Gage lied to a local agent about living there to get hired as a local. That relationship eventually led to Euphoria. The career-shifting moment came from a COVID Zoom audition in which a director forgot to mute himself and told his wife that Gage had a 'shitty apartment.' Gage called it out and improvised it into the scene, recorded the interaction on his end as all remote auditions required, and later posted it. He woke up to 100 calls and 100,000 follow requests — a hero for actors for one month. The following month, the internet decided he had orchestrated the entire thing as a marketing stunt to get onto White Lotus.
During a COVID Zoom audition, the director forgot to mute himself and mocked Gage's tiny apartment. Gage called it out, incorporated it into the scene, and later posted the video. He woke up famous. One month later, the internet decided he had staged the whole thing to get on White Lotus.
Gage lost out on a different role during a COVID Zoom audition (the viral video), but that freed him to audition for The White Lotus, the role that made his career.
After posting the video of the director accidentally mocking his apartment during a COVID-era Zoom audition, Gage woke up to 100 calls and 100,000 new follow requests.
