‘Emily in Paris’ star talks of post-show anxiety
Since Emily in Paris aired in 2020, Lucas Bravo has seen himself go from a relatively unknown actor to a Netflix star. While he’s still in the early days of his career, Bravo has been questioning the way that the spotlight has affected him already, noting that he has more “anxiety” now.
Bravo has played Gabriel, a chef and the titular character’s love interest, over four seasons so far. The show has remained popular, despite many people criticising it for its cheesiness and stereotyping of French people. Lily Collins stars as Emily, an annoying American who comes to Paris to live her French dreams, bringing many questionable outfits with her.
Getting your big break from a show that has been panned by many critics perhaps hasn’t been the easiest atmosphere for Bravo to navigate. He told the Independent that before he found success with Netflix, “Professionally and financially speaking, I wasn’t where I wanted to be.”
Yet, “I felt like I knew myself better back then. I had more clarity and a lot less anxiety. I’d been chasing that goal for 27 years. But once you step into it, it’s hard to find another purpose. Every level has its own paralysing self-doubt.”
That’s not to say that he wishes he’d never landed the high-profile role. “Being deep doesn’t mean you’re depressed. It’s just important to talk about these things.” He added, “I wanted to bring nuance to the fact that just because you do one season of a Netflix show doesn’t mean you have a beautiful house in the hills, and that you’re rich and you’re set for life and you’re happy.”
Bravo clarified: “You’re allowed, as a human being, to go through a huge range of emotions and to question things. It doesn’t mean you’re not grateful, or you’re not enjoying the ride.” He continued, “It just means things are real. We’re complex. It’s not black and white.”
While starring in Emily in Paris, Bravo has appeared in movies such as Mrs Harris Goes to Paris, which featured Lesley Manville as a British woman who journeys to Paris searching for a designer dress. He also appeared in the romantic comedy Ticket to Ride alongside Julia Roberts.
The fourth season of Emily in Paris has been split into two halves by Netflix. The first aired yesterday (August 15th) and the second will be released on September 12th.