Why Lucas Bravo From Emily In Paris Is So Familiar

If you're a fan of the Netflix original series "Emily in Paris," you've probably fallen head over heels for Gabriel, also known as the hot chef. Funny enough, French actor Lucas Bravo was actually still working in a restaurant when he won the part. After Season 1 debuted and viewers far and wide fell for him (and his will-they-won't-they with the titular heroine), Bravo was understandably overwhelmed by all of the new attention. "I had imposter syndrome and that level of visibility was hard for me to accept," he told Soho House magazine. "It started overnight and it can stop overnight, so I might as well enjoy the ride."

Without giving away what happens in Season 4, we will say that Bravo sure seems content with where the show is headed. "If season one was birth, season two was childhood and season three was being a teenager, season four is about growing into adult life," he told the Independent in 2024. "It's not a fish-out-of-water story now, it's more about emotions and more real, so to speak. We're growing with the show, and the viewers are growing. It feels very organic." 

It feels safe to say that Bravo's fanbase is only continuing to grow, too. "Emily in Paris" may be Bravo's main claim to fame as of this writing, but he's already done plenty of other roles, both in France and in America. He's also appeared in a few memorable commercials over the years. The long and short of it, there's a good chance you've seen Lucas Bravo in other projects. Here's the truth about the "Emily in Paris" star's career. 

Long before Lucas Bravo played Lily Collins' character's love interest on "Emily in Paris," he tried his hand at modeling. However, it wasn't the right fit at the time. "My parents did take me to an agency when I was 16, and I did one runway for Paul Smith, but the experience wasn't for me," he told The Guardian. "Fashion felt like a cold place and I was too sensitive for it."

So, he made the pivot to acting. One of Bravo's very first gigs was in a commercial for Tigersushi Furs, a clothing brand that was launched by the Tigersushi record label. In the ad, Bravo (with a very un-Gabriel long haircut) tries on a variety of colorful sweaters and shirts — all while playing around with a woman and an orange cat. They play chess, throw some clothes around, and tie themselves up in clothes. It's very cute, very fun, and very weird.

The ad was released back in 2013 when Bravo would have been around 25 years old. At the time, he was still trying to break into the industry — and as he told Numero, it wasn't easy at first. "It took me a long time to start making a living out of it, so I still feel the magic of it right now," he said. "Just like when I was amazed by everything in my first short film [which he shot the same year as this commercial] — 'Oh a camera! Oh a microphone!' I still have that childlike look."

In his mid-20s, Lucas Bravo's career began to take off in France. In 2013, he played Jeff in two episodes of "Sous le soleil de Saint-Tropez," a French series on TF1+. Then, in 2014, he landed a role in the French film "Smart Ass." This was followed by small roles in "T.O.C." in 2015 and "Plus belle la vie" in 2016. He also appeared in ten short films between 2013 and 2021. If you've watched any French TV, chances are, you might have spotted Bravo on your screen at some point without even realizing it.

During this time, Bravo was working fairly steadily — but he wasn't exactly thriving.  "Professionally and financially speaking, I wasn't where I wanted to be," he recalled to the Independent. "At the same time, I felt like I knew myself better back then. I had more clarity and a lot less anxiety."

As previously noted, Bravo worked in a restaurant kitchen before he got his big break. "That was my side hustle; while I was going to auditions, I was a sous chef," he told Soho House magazine. "It's a very similar job to acting. There's a lot of preparation and then, action!"

Long before his "Emily in Paris" days, Lucas Bravo was in a 2017 Chanel commercial. In the ad, Bravo plays a taxi driver, while actor Ellie Bamber plays a girl in the back seat using a Chanel compact. The pair make eye contact in the rear view mirror. When they arrive at their destination, Bamber kisses Bravo as he helps her out of the car.

In another ad, Bravo makes eye contact with a woman as she puts on lipstick on a bridge and he skateboards past her. The pair then run around the city desperately looking for each other before finally finding each other and kissing. We're starting to sense a theme here. Evidently, before he nabbed the role of the hot chef on "Emily in Paris," he was the hot mysterious stranger in commercials. Honestly, we totally get the vision.

While Bravo certainly had success with TV ad spots early on in his acting career, he's not necessarily a fan of the medium. As he once told Grazia, "I'm never very drawn to commercial work or branding and if I have to do it, it always has to be connected to a cinematic environment."

While playing the hot chef on "Emily in Paris" is arguably Lucas Bravo's biggest role to date, as far as he's concerned, "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" is the one that put him on the map. "The career moment that changed my life was reading the script of 'Mrs. Harris," he told Harper's Bazaar UK in 2022. Bravo shot "Mrs. Harris" in Budapest during the pandemic after finishing the first season of "Emily in Paris." "We were in this bubble," he said of the locked down set to Entertainment Weekly. "So by the end, [the cast] really created a special bond." The cast included stunning stars like Alba Baptista and Lesley Manville.

In the film, he played André Fauvel, a hot, albeit timid accountant at Dior with a philosophical side. While "Emily in Paris" fans are used to seeing him as the confident Gabriel, Bravo told Numero that he felt the role of André was actually a lot closer to his true personality. "I feel close to André Fauvel in many ways... Gabriel, the man I play in the series 'Emily in Paris,' is kind of a heartbreaker, to use the words of the journalists. But the 'sexy neighbor' is completely different from me."

What's more, Bravo got a chance to act opposite a living legend. "It was very humbling just to be in the presence of Lesley Manville, who is an absolute powerhouse and such a loyal, true friend," he told GQ.

Next up for Lucas Bravo was "Ticket to Paradise," Netflix's rom-com that featured longtime friends Julia Roberts and George Clooney as a divorced couple who join forces to try and stop their daughter from marrying someone they think is the wrong guy. Bravo played Paul, Roberts' younger love interest. Bravo was grateful to share the screen with the Oscar winner. "I had just taken five planes to Australia and spent two weeks in COVID-19 quarantine. I had no idea who I was, but Julia made it easy," he recalled in Soho House magazine.

Working with the likes of rom-com legend Julia Roberts and Hollywood icon George Clooney sure taught Bravo a few things about being a star — and a likable one, at that. "I learned that you can be an icon and that you can be the biggest actors on the planet and still be the kindest person, and that for me, changes everything, gives me a lot of fuel," he said to Collider. "There's a lot of ego in this industry and to see that you can make it this far and still keep your inner child intact and be a respectful, considerate person is for me, everything." In his aforementioned chat with GQ, he gushed about how surreal it was to work with the two veteran A-listers. "I couldn't believe I got that gig," he said. "Whenever I see Julia or George's name popping on my phone, I have to show my phone to a friend and be like, 'Look who's texting me.'"

Another of Lucas Bravo's films that you might have come across is "The Honeymoon," a rom-com that came out in 2022. As the title might lead one to assume, the movie's about a honeymoon. However, things go awry when a "charming gangster" falls for the bride and derails the honeymoon and sweeps the newlyweds up into his life of crime. Wouldn't you know it, everyone's favorite hot chef stepped into the shoes of the aforementioned "charming gangster," Giorgio.

Even though Bravo played a pivotal role in the film, you'd be forgiven for not quite recognizing him as Emily's handsome neighbor. For one thing, he sported blond hair in the film. Plus, he also tried his hand at an Italian accent for the role. In other words, it was a whole new Lucas Bravo. 

Although the film didn't get the best reviews, Australian arts and entertainment site The Blurb did praise him for bringing "plenty of charm to his role" — honestly, we can hardly say we're surprised to hear it.

In 2022, Lucas Bravo was in a brand campaign for the glasses company Persol. Images from the campaign feature a very chic and suave Bravo. He appeared alongside fellow actor Sophie Cookson.

For Bravo, the campaign, which was inspired by '60s cinema, was right up his alley. "I like the fact that Persol is an iconic brand that lasted for a long time, but they reinvented themselves recently," Bravo told Grazia of his decision to do the project. "It's always good to see such an iconic brand not just follow trends, but come up with strong new ideas, evolving over time." He added that he loved the cinematic aspect of the photoshoot. "[Persol] is very much implanted with the cinematic universe that's drawn me to this industry in the first place, so it's such an honor to be a small part of it," he said.

As much as he enjoyed being a part of this Persol campaign, and as much as he loves a good outfit, he still doesn't feel totally at home in the fashion world. "I love fashion. I'm a caveman, so I'm not really into fashion events and stuff like that, but I love this opportunity to reinvent yourself every time," he once told Who What Wear. 

Lucas Bravo made his first official runway debut in 2023 when he walked the runway for designer Louis-Gabriel Nouchi at Paris Fashion Week. "[Nouchi] is actually a childhood friend, and he called me and he was like, 'Listen, I know this is not your cup of tea, but I would love for you to open my show. I think it would be fun. People wouldn't expect it,'" Bravo recalled to Grazia. The show was inspired by "American Psycho," which made it easier to say yes. (He loves paying homage to cinema, remember?) "I said yes, and I couldn't take it back," he joked.

Now, given what Bravo's said in the past about modeling work, his willingness to participate in his pal's show may seem surprising. As previously noted, he did not particularly enjoy modeling back when he was a teenager. "The atmosphere of fashion was very sensitive," he recalled to Grazia, "so everything was very cold and it felt very unpersonalized." However, as far as he was concerned, this particular modeling experience was a total blast. 

In 2024, Lucas Bravo starred in "The Balconettes," a comedy horror film written and directed by "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" actor Noémie Merlant. In "The Balconettes," which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, Bravo plays a character unlike anything else he's played to date.

At first, his character seems to be a classic attractive neighbor type. However, things get a little twisted and gory after he invites three women from a neighboring apartment over to his place. As he hinted to Variety, "I was playing a sociopath." Speaking to British Vogue, Bravo added that the character is "charming" like Gabriel from "Emily in Paris," "but also a complete predator." He added, "I wanted to bring that aspect to life. People like that aren't always scary looking — they can be your neighbor."

As creepy as his role is, Bravo told The Hollywood Reporter he's excited for people to see him in this new light. What's more, he enjoyed working with Merlant. "She made something so creative in every aspect — the outfits, the soundtrack, the way the camera moves, the way she directed us," he said. "Everything is unique. Everything is bold. I'm pretty proud of it."