Going into Emily in Paris Season 5, #TeamGabriel has never felt more out of reach — mainly because Emily is living her best life with her Italian cashmere heir ragazzo, Marcello. And while Season 4 ended with Gabriel apparently trying to track Emily down, the trailer for the upcoming entry (out Dec. 18) makes it clear that the titular expat’s affections currently lie in Rome.
Even so, Lucas Bravo, who plays Gabriel in the Netflix rom-com, isn’t too worried. In fact, in a new interview, he teased some levity for his lovelorn chef in Season 5.
Gabriel Is So Back
In a Nov. 17 interview with Variety, Bravo was asked about the “big muscles and highlights” he’s sporting in new Season 5 photos. And, yeah… he’s looking sharp!
“I think Gabriel is going back to what he was in Season 1,” Bravo said. “I think all of us wanted to bring back a fun Gabriel. I hope we addressed the demand!”
Indeed, Gabriel began the series as a charming catalyst in Emily’s new Parisian life. But more recently, he’s struggled with communication as a partner, ultimately making Emily feel like she wasn’t actually a priority in his life.
As Bravo told IndieWire in 2024, he felt as though this version of Gabriel was “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.” As an actor, he continued, “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. I really grew apart from him.”
Bravo went so far as to say he’d begun to “question” his future with the show. “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. (Creator Darren Star later told Deadline he saw Bravo’s remarks as a “misunderstanding,” and that he always intended to return.)
A New Leaf
Fortunately, Bravo’s latest comments hint that Gabriel is back to his best, swoony self after what he called a “gloomy” turn in the second half of Season 4.
But even if Bravo has been vocal about wanting more for his character, the actor — who also stars in HBO Max’s The Seduction — is effusive about his collaborators, especially the titular Emily.
“Lily [Collins] — I don’t think I’ve ever worked with someone that professional,” he told Variety. “She raises the bar to a level I’ve never seen before. She made me a better actor in terms of her presence on set, the way she learns lines, delivers lines, participates in everything.”
