Lucas Bravo Says Gabriel’s Character Direction Makes Him “Question” If He Wants to Return for ‘Emily in Paris’ Season 5

Lucas Bravo is getting candid about his thoughts on the direction his Emily in Paris character, Gabriel, is going.

The actor previously told The Hollywood Reporter that he was hoping for some growth for Gabriel in season five of the Netflix series because “he made a few choices that made me kind of grow away from him. We were very much alike in season one, but now, I don’t really know. I think I feel like he needs to get his shit together.”

In a more recent conversation with IndieWire tied to his upcoming film Freedom from Mélanie Laurent, the Ticket to Paradise actor expanded on that sentiment, explaining that he isn’t very proud of the choices the “sexy chef” has been making.

“I’ve never been so far away from him,” Bravo told the publication. “As they made him kind of unaware of his surroundings, of the dynamic, always victimizing and always being completely lost in translation and oblivious to anything that is happening around him and being manipulated by everyone, 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 shared that he’s tried to voice his concerns about the character and give input while in production, but there’s only so much that can be done within the constraints of the script. The Hollywood Reporter reached out to Netflix for comment.

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

Bravo’s Emily in Paris contract is up now at the end of season four, he told IndieWire, so he admitted that his issues with Gabriel’s trajectory have made him “question” if he wants to return for Emily in Paris season five.

“I really want to see if Gabriel gets back to his fun, cheeky, playful, alive self,” the Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris star continued. “Because 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.”

Bravo explained that perhaps Netflix and Darren Star may be hesitant to change the dynamic of the show because of its success, so they’re “very precious” about not changing anything — or, if they do change something, they quickly revert it back. “There is a lack of risk,” he said.

Despite his concerns about Gabriel’s path and Emily in Paris, in general, he knows that he owes his career to the show, and it still means a lot to him.

“I love the show and the people in it,” he said. “I feel like I am not being nice or grateful, but when you love something you want it to be … you want the best version of it. 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.”