‘Emily in Paris’ star Lucas Bravo mulling exit from show because he’s ‘frustrated’ with his character’s direction

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

(CNN) — Actor Lucas Bravo has some notes about his “Emily in Paris” character.

The French actor has appeared on the hit Netflix series as Gabriel – a Parisian chef who has been one of Emily’s (Lily Collins) central love interests throughout the show’s four seasons since it debuted in 2020 – but he is less than thrilled with the direction his character has taken.

“The ‘sexy chef’ was very much part of me in Season 1 and we grew apart season after season because of the choices he makes and because of the direction they make him take,” Bravo told IndieWire in a recent interview about his relationship with his character, adding, “I’ve never been so far away from him.”

“It kind of became not fun for me to shoot or to see a character I love so much and brought me so much, being slowly turned into guacamole,” he also said.

Bravo is eager to see if the Netflix series will showcase a return to form for Gabriel, saying he hopes that the character reverts back to his “fun, cheeky, playful, alive self” in Season 5 because, he added, “three seasons playing melancholic, sad, depressed, and lost is not fun anymore.”

“It’s a comedy, everybody is having fun around me, everybody is jumping around, and I’m just slowly sinking into god knows what,” he said.

Even though Bravo said he approached the showrunners with his concerns, his hands were tied.

“I tried for seasons to bring nuances but we don’t have much liberty on set. We cannot change a word or an emotion. They know what they want and we just have to comply,” he said.

“It makes me question if I want to be part of Season 5,” Bravo added.

CNN has reached out to Netflix for comment.

Leaving even more of a question as to whether he’ll return is the fact that the Season 4 cliffhanger includes Emily moving to Rome with a new Italian love interest waiting in the wings.

“When you love something you want it to be…you want the best version of it,” Bravo told IndieWire. “I’m not going to lie, I’ve been frustrated with the direction my character is taking. But we’ll see where it goes. The show is not over.”

“Emily in Paris” stars Collins, Ashley Park, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Kate Walsh, Camille Razat and Lucien Laviscount, among others.

The show follows Emily, a marketing executive from Chicago, as she travels to Paris for a job that finds her juggling mounting work commitments with new friendships and romantic partners, all in a foreign country.

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