Lucas, Gabriel, Bravo wants to live in Amsterdam

His favorite arrondissement is the 11th, especially because of the nature and Parc Buttes Chaumont, but he prefers to be in Amsterdam. Do it metaphorically, but put a gun to Lucas Bravo's head and ask him to choose between Paris and Amsterdam, and it will undoubtedly be the latter. A conversation about friendship, the course of fate, and all that with hugs included.

“I have been here so many times, as a child with my parents, and I have so many cherished memories here. Paris is amazing and so beautiful, and I have many friends who are very woke and not the typical, stuffy Parisians, but I definitely choose Amsterdam. The people, the architecture, so many artists, the freedom you feel here and the Amsterdam cuisine.”

Lucas Bravo and I – I really enjoy this little phrase – are sitting in the Pulitzer Hotel in Amsterdam. I just handed him a bag containing the room spray Objet d’Amsterdam by Marie Stella Maris. Because I had read that he loved Amsterdam so much. Lucas stands up and gives me a hug. I had seen him do that with my predecessor, so he is generous with his hugs, but that was at the end of the interview. Probably not after two minutes.

“Very kind of you,” he says while looking at me over the bag. “Really very kind. It’s the first gift I’ve actually received from an interviewer.” Then he places the bag behind him. “I really want to open it, but I don’t want to take up your precious interview time.” We have ten minutes, so we need to get a move on. Lucas is in Amsterdam to promote the second “pluck” of Emily in Paris. Is that necessary? No, Emily in Paris is currently one of the most-watched series on Netflix. Is it fun? Definitely.

Lucas Bravo, the charming chef from Emily in Paris, had to get used to his instant star status and all the stereotypical casting jobs that came with it. He was an actor. He could be more than just the pretty boy. Admittedly: in real life, Lucas is also a completely different person than Gabriel. More alternative, rougher, or as my love said when I showed him the photo of Lucas and myself: “Could also be the bassist of a grunge band.”

When asked if he still feels a bit discriminated against because of his appearance and struggles to show that beauty and brains can indeed go together, he laughs a little.

“I did feel that at the beginning, yes. But you know, I realize now that I shouldn’t complain. I’m in an incredibly successful series that is broadcast in almost a hundred countries. I have work in the profession I dreamed of, working with people I have admired for a long time. It gives me security in many ways. I don’t have to worry about money and can focus on what I love to do. And that for a completely unknown actor who worked in restaurants and supermarkets before Emily in Paris.”

How a completely unknown actor working in a supermarket gets cast for a million-dollar series is the logical follow-up question. “A bizarre story, actually. I was doing an acting course and grabbed a sandwich in the cafeteria between two classes. There was a crumpled piece of paper in the corner, and I bent down to pick it up and throw it away. And while I was walking to the trash can, I saw the name Darren Star and thought: that’s the producer of Sex and the City, and I thought that was a great series. Then I contacted the casting director, who kept not answering. I kept calling and calling, and when she finally picked up, I said: It’s about the role of Gabriel. I want you to be sure you’re making the right decision. Then she laughed and I was allowed to audition.”

And with that one downside, the typecast effect, he can now live perfectly well. “I had that very much at the beginning, but I’ve made peace with it. This role has brought me so much, I’ve been able to play so many other roles afterward, I’ve been to Cannes, and I really feel that I can now calmly build on where I want to go next and what else I want to do.”

If you talk about going from 0 to 100, then Lucas's career is a great example. “The success was so ‘overnight’ and so overwhelming for me. I also felt like I didn’t deserve it and had a bit of an imposter complex. It was so fast, so much.”

You also live in Paris, the city that acts like a mega magnet attracting all Emily in Paris fans. You must be tripping over fans.

“It’s funny, but when my hair is longer and I have a little beard, people don’t always manage to connect all the dots. And when they recognize me, they are always very nice. I really have a nice fanbase. Because I’m not very active on social media and don’t show much personal stuff, I feel like people respect my privacy.”
Or you just act like you’re not him.

“People sometimes say: you really look like that actor from Emily in Paris. Then it might be very tempting to pretend I’m not, but that gives bad karma. So I say: that’s right, I am that.” He laughs modestly.

I’ve read in interviews of yours that you can laugh at the typical Parisian. I’ve worked with people from Paris for years and see 1-on-1 examples from the workplace reflected in Emily in Paris.

“It’s okay to laugh a little, and the fact that they feel addressed means we’re on the right track.”

No critical French friends raising their eyebrows at this role?

“No, they are just happy for me that I’m doing something I want and love.”

The last question is a fun one according to Lucas. It went like this: if time, space, gender, and any other conceivable obstacle didn’t matter, which role would you have wanted to play?

“There are two characters I would have loved to play. One is Into the Wild, Chris McCandless played by Emile Hirsch. About that boy who travels to Alaska by bus, which I’ve actually done myself. Or the role of Kevin Costner in Dances With Wolves, everything that’s about discovering and finding a new culture. Instead of imposing your own cultural values on others, precisely allowing that other culture to be valued. It resonates with how I learned to live as a child who traveled a lot. Everything that needs an open mind and a blank canvas and where you set aside everything you thought you knew about life.” Great question, I’ve never asked myself that.

I tell him that this seems to me the nice thing about being an actor. The ability to live so many lives.

“If you have work, certainly. Otherwise, you only have one life and that is: struggling.”