When you meet Lucas Bravo, you half expect to see him with frying pan in hand, offering to make you eggs. His role as chef Gabriel, in Netflix's Emily in Paris, has made him a household name (with pin-up status) but it is, interestingly enough, not the career move that he considers life-changing.
Instead, it's when he "read the script for Mrs Harris Goes to Paris," he says, without pausing to think. Released this autumn, it is the film adaptation of the cult 1958 novel by Paul Gallico, starring Leslie Manville. He plays André Fauvel, an accountant at Dior who befriends the titular character when she embarks upon a couture-inspired trip to Paris.
But, before it's release, we are also here to discuss his latest film role, in the charming rom-com Ticket to Paradise, starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts. It's a witty but feel-good exploration of old love, new love and – in the case of Bravo's brilliantly executed hapless romantic pilot Paul – doomed love. "He is a 30-something-year-old with a 15-year-old's state of mind," he grins, of a character who allows Bravo to show off his impressive comedic chops. "He's very naive, very innocent. He operates out of love and just wants to get that ultimate validation from the woman he loves."
While it is a marvellous and rather charming comedic romp set in the tropical paradise of Bali, Bravo describes it with far more eloquence: "Ticket to Paradise is a journey through the intricacies of the heart through the prism of nostalgia and melancholy." If he had his own ticket to paradise he would go to Japan, he says, and if he wasn't an actor, he would want to be an explorer; "I'd want to find something that allowed me to travel all around the world and discover new ways of thinking."
We are speaking the day after the London premiere of the film, during which time he may or may not have brought out his signature moves... "The sports," he says, proffering no further explanation. The sports? "Yeah, ya know," he laughs, miming each one as a dance move; "There's tennis, there's golf.... any sport I'll do it!" All that physical exertion no doubt contributes to his party trick. "On my party trick?" he smiles, and then deadpans: "Napping. I like to fall asleep everywhere. I'm constantly tired." It's little wonder that he would want his superpower to be silence. "Wherever I am I would just click my fingers and... silence, everywhere. You could just listen to your thoughts."
Bravo was born in Nice, the son of French football player Daniel Bravo and singer Eva Bravo. He began his career as a model and made his screen debut in the French TV series Sous le soleil de Saint-Tropez in 2013. His big break was, of course, starring opposite Lily Collins in Emily in Paris. Playing a romantic lead has unavoidably propelled him to a new level of fame. "But I don't think I ever feel confident," he admits. "I think confidence is an act. If I'm being honest, I don't think anyone is ever really confident. If you're conscious, if you're aware of what life represents and what you represent, I think confidence is just an act and it's about who plays it better."
One thing he does feel confident about, is his love for Paris, where he lives and where he has filmed his last two big projects: Emily and Mrs Harris – an experience very close to his heart. "The best gift I've ever been given was from a co-star from Mrs Harris," he remembers. "I was about to play a fashion designer and she found a pen once owned by him and gifted it to me, as motivation for my research about the character. It was a really, really cool gift."
Up next will be the third season of Emily in Paris and those hoping to one day be cooked for by Bravo are in luck. The actor is a fairly decent cook off screen, too. "I do cook in real life!" he laughs. "My signature is risotto with curry, coconut and prawns." Dinner at yours then, Lucas?
'Ticket to Paradise' is in cinemas now. 'Mrs Harris Goes To Paris' is in cinemas from 30 September.
