'Emily in Paris' star Lucas Bravo is more than a heartthrob: 'Mystery is sexy'

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.”

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'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.”

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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.”