White Lotus star Lukas Gage explains why he was fired from Mad Men over shirtless scene: 'Bragged...

Gage was supposed to be shirtless with Kiernan Shipka in a scene of the drama, but was let go for a super specific reason. White Lotus star Lukas Gage explains

Gage was supposed to be shirtless with Kiernan Shipka in a scene of the drama, but was let go for a super specific reason.

White Lotus star Lukas Gage explains why he was fired from *Mad Men *over shirtless scene: 'Bragged to everyone'

Gage was supposed to be shirtless with Kiernan Shipka in a scene of the drama, but was let go for a super specific reason.

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October 9, 2025 10:38 a.m. ET

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Lukas Gage attends the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party; Jon Hamm on 'Mad Men'. Credit:

Amy Sussman/Getty; Michael Yarish/AMC

Before Lukas Gage starred in his show-stopping, major butt-eating scene in *The White Lotus*, the 30-year-old star had to stomach a challenging hurdle when he was fired from major TV drama *Mad Men* early in his career.

The actor and *I Wrote This for Attention *memoir* *author appeared Thursday on *Live With Kelly and Mark* to promote his new project, with cohosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos inquiring about a portion of the book that includes reflections on his early gigs as an up-and-coming actor.

"I was cast on the last season of *Mad Men*," Gage told Ripa and Consuelos, with the former adding, "I'm not remembering this" as Gage spoke.

Lukas Gage on Feb. 26, 2025 in Los Angeles, Calif.

Maya Dehlin Spach/Getty

"That's because I got fired," Gage replied, recalling a scene that would've seen him perform opposite one of the show's stars, Kiernan Shipka. "I walk on set, I see Kiernan Shipka, who's now one of my best friends, and [the crew sees] this giant tattoo on the whole side of my body while I'm going to be shirtless, playing a 15-year-old in the '50s."

Ripa asked if the crew could've covered his body art up, though Gage confirmed that "it wasn't going to work, they could just recast it real quick."

He said "it was one of the first jobs I got" and that he "bragged to everyone about it, and then they said, 'You're going home.' But, if I didn't book that job, I wouldn't have booked the next couple [things]."

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Gage said that the actors "called me tattoo boy" after that, and that he had a chance run-in with the show's leading man shortly thereafter.

"Jon Hamm, I was catering at the Emmys the next year, and he remembered me and gave me a hug," Gage said. "And he said, 'Everyone has to get fired once in their career.'"

In a separate interview with the *Guardian*, Gage said that his team at the time wasn't happy about the loss of the gig.

Kiernan Shipka on 'Mad Men'.

"I had these agents saying to me: 'How could you ruin this? How could you mess this up?'" Gage told the publication. "I don't think that was the greatest thing for a teenager to hear when they've just lost something that big."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

Gage went on to mount a successful career, with roles in films like *Assassination Nation, Road House*, and *Smile 2,* in addition to his headline-making turn in *The White Lotus*' inaugural season on HBO, as well as a main role on Netflix's *You*.

*I Wrote This for Attention* is out Oct. 14.**

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