Current:Home > Finance'Emily in Paris' star Lucas Bravo is more than a heartthrob: 'Mystery is sexy' -Infinite Edge Learning
'Emily in Paris' star Lucas Bravo is more than a heartthrob: 'Mystery is sexy'
View
Date:2025-04-12 03:21:01
NEW YORK – Lucas Bravo knows how you feel about his “Emily in Paris” character.
For the last four seasons of the hit Netflix rom-com, French chef Gabriel (Bravo) has ping-ponged between his next-door neighbor, Emily (Lily Collins), and ex-fiancée, Camille (Camille Razat), only to torpedo both relationships. But Bravo, 36, won’t shoulder the blame for his indecisive TV dreamboat.
“I’m an actor and I don’t make choices for him,” shrugs Bravo, speaking hours after Netflix announced the series would return for a fifth season. “I don’t know where it’s going to go from here, but I hope we’re not going to go through another Team This or Team That, because I don’t like to be a choice; humans are complex. But, you know, the show is what it is.”
Join our Watch Party!Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox
'Emily in Paris' star Lucas Bravo is ready to show his dark side
Since “Emily” premiered in 2020, Bravo has worked hard to prove he’s more than just a beefcake bourguignon. “I can’t say it’s the part where I’m showing the most range,” he says candidly. “But it’s not what the show is about. I’m mostly here to support the girls.”
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
After other heartthrob roles in comedies “Ticket to Paradise” and “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” Bravo is now stepping out of his comfort zone. He's playing a violent predator in #MeToo thriller “The Balconettes,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, and portraying a real-life Robin Hood figure in “Freedom” (streaming on Prime Video Nov. 1), a biopic of French robber Bruno Sulak.
Dubbed “the gentleman bandit” because of his nonviolent crimes, Sulak was a true chameleon: described as a “conman” by police and “the most amazing lover” by his girlfriend, Bravo explains. The actor could relate to that malleability, as the son of professional soccer player Daniel Bravo, whose job uprooted his family every couple of years.
"I had to adapt as a kid and always be the new guy," Bravo remembers.
By age 15, he had enrolled in acting school and went on to make his screen debut in the 2013 French TV drama "Sous le Soleil de Saint-Tropez." “Freedom” marks his first time leading a project, which he found both “scary and exhilarating.”
“It was actually the first time I stepped off set being satisfied with my work,” he adds. “It made me really hungry for more.”
George Clooney consoled him after overnight success of his Netflix show
Bravo credits his “Ticket to Paradise” co-star George Clooney for keeping him on the Hollywood path. After the fizzy first season of “Emily” became a pop-culture phenomenon (and frequent punching bag on social media), Bravo was unsure whether he wanted to keep acting.
“I’m a very private person,” he says. “I like my tiny circle of friends; I’m close to my family; I’m from a quiet place in the South of France. It’s a lot of noise and opinions, and it really feels like walking through a house of mirrors all day. I was like, ‘Maybe I’m too sensitive for this.’ ”
But working with Clooney and Julia Roberts on the 2022 movie, “I saw how enthusiastic George was. It was like his first student film,” Bravo recalls. “He was excited and joking about everything, and bringing everybody together. I realized that being a leading man is not only being first on the call sheet but looking after every actor’s well-being.”
He now calls Clooney a mentor, who shares advice and invites him over for dinner from time to time: “It brought me peace to see that you can still be a good human being in an industry that is a bit crazy.”
Bravo says he doesn’t get recognized by fans as much lately, ever since debuting a shaggy new look for his upcoming Max show “Merteuil,” an adaptation of “Dangerous Liaisons.” He keeps his Instagram strictly professional; no selfies or snaps of his breakfast. “I like mystery,” the Frenchman says with a smile. “Mystery is sexy.”
Wry and inquisitive, Bravo thoughtfully speaks about his passions for veganism, sustainability and ocean conservation. He’s been taking Japanese classes for the last six months and hopes to go to Japan to shoot his directorial debut, which he describes as a love story. ("I really want to be immersed in their culture," he says.) In his rare free time, he enjoys backpacking through “crazy secluded places” such as Alaska and Patagonia.
“I'm very grateful I get to work and things are going well, but I can't remember the last time I had a week in nature by myself,” Bravo says. “When you have one or two days off, you spend them rehearsing for the next project or doing press for the previous one. At some point, you’re just in the hamster wheel, and unless you say stop, nobody else is going to.”
But at some point soon, he adds, a break will be much needed: “It’s hard to act in the world if you don’t have time to contemplate it.”
veryGood! (2)
Related
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- Bodies from Prigozhin plane crash contained 'fragments of hand grenades,' Russia says
- Drug delivery service leader gets 30 years in fentanyl poisoning deaths of 3 New Yorkers
- US resumes some food aid deliveries to Ethiopia after assistance was halted over ‘widespread’ theft
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Josh Duhamel says Hollywood lifestyle played a role in his split with ex-wife Fergie
- Cartels use social media to recruit American teens for drug, human smuggling in Arizona: Uber for the cartels
- Indonesia’s agriculture minister resigns amid a corruption investigation
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- India says it’s firm on Canada reducing diplomatic staff in the country but sets no deadline
Ranking
- 'Most Whopper
- It's Texas-OU's last Red River Rivalry in the Big 12. This split is a sad one.
- Trump ‘temporarily’ drops lawsuit against former lawyer-turned-witness Michael Cohen
- Francia Raísa Says She and Selena Gomez Needed That Time Apart
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- Dominican authorities are searching for caretaker after bodies of 6 newborns are found near cemetery
- Simone Biles leads U.S. women to seventh consecutive team title at gymnastics world championships
- North Carolina WR Tez Walker can play in 2023 after NCAA grants transfer waiver
Recommendation
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
Massachusetts House lawmakers unveil bill aimed at tightening state gun laws
Jason Derulo Accused of Sexual Harassment by Singer Emaza Gibson
NASCAR adds Iowa to 2024 Cup schedule, shifts Atlanta, Watkins Glen to playoffs
Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
When is the next Powerball drawing? Jackpot soars to $1.4 billion, 3rd largest in history
Shooting claims the life of baby delivered after mom hit by bullet on Massachusetts bus
Tom Hanks: Don't fall for AI version of me promoting dental plan