Lukas Gage Believes Charli XCX Could Defeat the Smile 2 Demon

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

This article contains spoilers for Smile 2.

We’re currently witnessing something of a pop star horror renaissance. Back in August, M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap invited moviegoers to attend fictional pop girl Lady Raven’s concert, which was really an ensnarement scheme for a serial killer. Just a few short months later, the trend continues with Smile 2, which sics the burgeoning horror franchise’s creepy demon on a new target: fictional pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), who’s just trying to stage a comeback after a drunk driving accident without facing any supernatural interference.

Yet as fate would have it, Skye heads to her former high-school classmate and drug dealer Lewis’ (Lukas Gage) apartment on the eve of her tour to score some low-grade painkillers. Unfortunately for her, a very distressed Lewis is the Smile demon’s current host — but not for long because soon Lewis begins smashing a nearby weight plate against his face, succumbing to his wounds and giving the demon the opportunity to hop straight into Skye.

From there, an increasingly disoriented Skye tries to scrape back control of her reality, even as demanding fans and her own “momager” (Rosemary DeWitt) expect her to perform no matter the cost. And through it all, the specter of Lewis’ bloody face hangs over her, a grisly harbinger of doom amid the endless meet-and-greets and dress rehearsals.

You might recognize Gage, the queer star behind Lewis, from his turns on buzzy shows such as The White Lotus, You, and Euphoria. But the actor and self-professed horror superfan actually got his start in the genre space, appearing in horror projects like Sickhouse and Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. In a way, his eerie presence in Smile 2 brings things full-circle.

To mark Smile 2’s first weekend in theaters, Gage caught up with Them to chat about shooting his big bloody moment, drawing inspiration from Boogie Nights, and whether the Smile demon is brat.

We were big fans of your Other Two cameo at Them, but Smile 2 is good, too!

[laughs] Thank you.

The first Smile was a big horror sensation when it came out. Were you a fan of the franchise before you signed onto Smile 2, or were you going into this fresh?

No, I was a complete massive fan. And in fact, I was such a fan that I wrote [director] Parker [Finn] an email right when it came out. I expressed, like, “You are an incredible filmmaker. I cannot believe this is your first feature film. Congrats.” You know, not thinking there was going to be a sequel or anything. And then he asked me to audition. That was cool.

Your big scene in Smile 2 where you’re smashing a weight into your face has been haunting me since I first saw it. I mean that as a compliment.

[laughs] I’m sorry, but also, great, I’m glad.

I’d love to hear about the process of shooting that scene, from prep work to prosthetics.

I mean, the prosthetics were huge. I had to do the thing where they mold your entire face and you breathe through a straw for an hour and a half while they replicate all your features. If you are claustrophobic, I do not recommend it. It’s truly terrifying.

From there, they have to model it and replicate your skin color. I can’t even believe the way that they are able to do this technology. You get to set and you see, like, six molded versions of your face and molded versions of your nose that are going to be messed up.

The prep work was just to come in with an immense amount of freedom and frenetic energy, and to have this relationship with Skye and make that real. That scene that you saw took a whole week because every time you smash your face, something changes. Every time you smash was a different day. So it was a long week of work for a very short scene.

“Stillness is the key with the smile.”

Did you get any selfies with those prosthetics?

Oh my God, I have so many. I have a whole folder. I cannot wait to share it someday soon when they allow me to.

What’s the secret to pulling off Smile’s signature creepy smile? Did Parker give you any pointers going in, or were you just practicing in front of your trailer mirror?

I was doing it in front of a mirror a bunch. I learned a lot from watching the first one, and watching other horror movies. I think the key is you want to start from a different position. You want to kind of have something lighthearted [on your mind], so there’s a transition into the smile. You want to have the head tilt, then you smile, and then you want to keep it as still as you can. Stillness is the key with the smile.

I’ll have to try that out. I do love how that scene in Lewis’ apartment is really a table setter for all of the horror antics that Skye Riley is about to be subjected to. It reminded me a bit of Drew Barrymore’s opening scene in Scream, so it feels fitting that Drew made a cameo at the beginning of the movie.

Yeah, I definitely see a lot of Scream. I weirdly saw a bit of the end of Boogie Nights, like, the Alfred Molina scene. That was an inspiration for me for [Smile 2], even though it’s such a wildly different film.

Were there any other films that you drew inspiration from?

Mainly Boogie Nights. I think the Alfred Molina character in Boogie Nights was a big inspiration for me. And then Parker and I had talked in a meeting about how much we loved Nightmare on Elm Street, so I touched base with that movie, which I loved growing up.

Forget the real-life stan wars. Pledge allegiance to a fake diva instead.

You’ve appeared in your fair share of horror projects over the years. What attracts you to working within the genre? Or is it more so based on the project?

I think it’s both. I mean, I’m a huge horror fan. I grew up loving horror films, and then on top of it, it’s the material. I think Parker’s such a genius. At first, some people can be scared of doing sequels. You don’t want to be the sophomore slump. And yes, the script is bigger and bolder and crazier, but I think the thing that drew me to [Smile 2] was how interesting it is, and how interesting the characters were in the movie, how layered it was. How it was talking about really important issues that were separate from the first one, but still thoughtful and deep, which I think was why the first one resonated with so many people.

Yeah. Smile 2 easily could’ve recycled the same basic premise from the first movie, but instead, it has this pop star concept. Between this and Trap, there’s kind of a pop star horror movie era going on, and I would love as many of those stories as possible.

Me, too.

Which real-life pop star do you think would have the best shot at defeating the Smile demon?

I think Charli XCX would just go full brat on it and just annihilate it. She’s a genius. I think her mind is on another level [and] she would figure out a way to beat it.

Do you think the Smile demon is brat?

[laughs] No, I don’t think the Smile demon is brat, unfortunately. I think the Smile demon is anti-brat. But I think Skye Riley is brat.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Smile 2 is in theaters now.

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