Podcrushed - Lucas Bravo

Episode Date: October 23, 2024

Lucas Bravo (Emily in Paris, FREEDOM) joins us from the green room of The Kelly Clarkson Show to talk about his early years bouncing between France and Italy, the fortuitous run-in he had in the middle of a busy street that led to his breakout role in Emily in Paris, and how a retreat into the mountains to get away from Hollywood ended up bringing him right back.    Follow Podcrushed on socials:Tiktok Instagram XSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lemonada And she was like, oh, I always appreciated you. Do you want me to, can I represent you? I'm an agent now. And I was like, I don't think it's the right time. I'm still studying. And she said, I'm just going to send you stuff. And you'll tell me what you think.

There's nothing to sign, no commitment. And the first thing she sent me was Evelyn Paris. And it just happened like that. Welcome to Podcrushed. We're hosts. I'm Penn. I'm Sophie and I'm Nava and I think we would have been

your middle school besties. Fantacizing about our French teachers. Welcome to Pod Crushed. We're glad you're here. I'm joined by my co-hosts Navajoie Kaplan and Sophie Ansari. Hello. How's it?

Hello. Oh, la. Oh, la. But I think, I think, Penn do the whole intro In French Bienvenu at Pod Crush That's

That's all I've got I can really I can just say I don't know With enough of an accent That people who speak French think Oh do you speak French And the answer is really no

And then you're stuck No Men actually You have been Home wrapped with you Yes Your show you for a minute now.

Tell us about how it's been. You know, so we had our crazy trip out in L.A. where I got food poisoning and that was, that was a nice old punch to the gut, a nice cleanse. I don't, you know, people have been asking that for some time. It hasn't started to dawn on me in a serious way.

You know what I mean? Like I'm kind of just going about life. You know, we're developing some things. We have meetings. There's still, you know, I'm engaging in things. Nothing that substance of has changed. changed yet. Yeah.

And by the way, you're never going to be fully wrapped on developing things. Just like a little disclaimer. We have today.

Luca Bravo. But you might think is named Lucas Bravo, but he's French, so the S is silent. And he was very, very amenable

to us pronouncing it however we wanted. But it is Luca Bravo. You know him from Emily in Paris. Now, in November,

his new film Freedom is out, November 1st. It's also, it's called Libre, so in French, en Francais. It's inspired by a true story of Bruno Celac, a thief who infamously masterminded jewelry store robberies in the 1970s and

early 1980s. It is a beautiful, beautiful film. We couldn't be happier to have Luca on today. It was a deep conversation. We really connected. Please stick around. Does anyone else

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Hey, it's Lena Waith. Legacy Talk is my love letter to black storytellers, artists who've changed the game and paved the way for so many of us. This season, I'm sitting down with icons like Felicia Rashad, Lareda Devine, Ava Du René, and more. We're talking about their journeys,

their creative process, and the legacies they're building every single day. Come be a part of the conversation. Season two drops July 29th. Listen to Legacy Talk wherever you get your podcast, or watch us on YouTube. Luca, thank you so much

for being a part of this. and just to be clear you are coming to us from the dressing room at Kelly Clarkson's show yes New York but more specifically that dressing room did you know that we've had Kelly Clarkson in our show too you guys should

you know if it comes up naturally you should just like talk about our show on hers yeah give us a plug I will honestly I will we'll be watching where we start on this show with everybody I don't know if you're aware is in middle school

around about age like 11, 12 13. So we focus on this coming of age. And for you, I mean, from what we gather, it sounds like this is when you first quite unexpectedly started improv classes. Yes. And it sounds like you moved around a lot because your father was a professional footballer. So please, you know, just give us a snapshot of you at 12 years old,

how you were seeing the world, what school was like, what home was like and all of that. So, as you said, I was, I was deruited quite a few times. I think we moved maybe 18 times. 18 times? Yeah, different cities. We were in Italy, we were in south of France, north, east, west. We did a few cities. Yeah, it's weird because you're torn apart every time you leave your friends and you're new, this new dynamic.

But then at the same time, I feel like I developed, some kind of distance, instead of thinking in my microcosm and seeing my problems as world problems, I realized that nothing was really important. And also, I was in that phase where I didn't want to be the new guy anymore. So I would identify pretty easily dynamics and patterns of people in order to fit in very quickly in the missing spot of a group dynamic and lose that new guy status, which ultimately made me kind of accustomed to, you know, be what people expected me to be. So I kind of, it's a phase where I was, when you're supposed to tackle the person you're going to be in your adult life, your masculinity and everything, I was just playing a role kind of. So I didn't really know what I was doing apart from trying to be a people-pleaser.

And so acting was kind of an emergency and a revelation because it felt so safe to have this blueprint of a human being. They tell you how he speaks, moves, things. And I was like, oh, this is like, if I play by those rules, I'll be fine in opposition to my life where it's just pure improvisation. That's interesting. So through improvisation, you found the most stable and predictable kind of like aspect of your life. I really identify with that. I don't know if you're aware, but I got, I was professional, I was, I moved to LA to Hollywood when I was 12. And in fact, these two, so I didn't really finish middle school because my, my academic career was interrupted by becoming a professional actor. And then these two were, um, at one point, they've been, they've been, middle school teachers or administrators. So that's, again, our... Yeah. Actually, a lot of what you're saying about moving really resonates for me because I moved not 18 times.

That's really... I've never heard of that, but seven times. I moved to seven different countries before the time I was 18. And so what you're saying about friendships and having to start over and becoming developing perspective and also learning how to adapt very quickly, all resonates. But I think in my case, it also made our family quite close because we were the only thing that was constant. And I'm curious, I know it can have that effect, but it can also have the opposite effect. I'm curious for your family. What was the impact? It's a very good question, actually. Yeah. It was weird because my father being a professional

soccer player, it's a very demanding time-wise job. So it was. It was training every morning, every afternoon, and we would live on Saturday to rest with the team in the hotel near the location where they would have a game on Sunday. So it was mostly my mom educating us. So I don't feel like it brought us. It created that sense of community or consistency you're talking about. It was mostly confusing. it gave me a big sense of loneliness mostly you know I feel like Italy was it was a big

was a defining moment because we were moving from different cities in France but Italy was a different culture and a different language and a different state of mind and a different world when you were young it's very very far away from home I was eight they they throw me in an Italian school which just didn't make sense back then, but today I'm glad they did because you're a sponge when you're young and you absorb a different language and culture very easily. But when we had to leave

that place, it was the hardest place I've ever left. And I would have stayed there easily. I felt like I had found the place where I wanted to grow and make friends and start building something real. And after that, I kind of subconsciously gave up on the idea of wanting to settle anywhere. And after that, I just, I just, I feel like something subconscious decided to be like just this ever-moving entity and then to never, to always need to be stimulated by discomfort. How old are you when you left Italy? I was 10. I was there from 8 to 10 in Parma. Side note, when you have, when you have like a, um, you have, um, you have, an excursion with your class in a can you say excursion yeah field trip yeah field trip and it's in parma you go visit the parmesan cheese factory

and i think that's an interesting what then were your anchors your rocks so i'm thinking of like people who might have been that but then also i'm thinking of like you know were there movies was there music or their books, like, you know, at that age, there's, there, you start to cling to things and you become, you know, your mind is, is coming alive. So I'm wondering about, about that. There was, yeah, I don't know why I, I really, really connected to dance with wolves and, yeah, I, I guess I didn't know it back then, but I realized later on that the story of this fish out of water, yeah, he wants to explore the frontier before it disappears. and instead of trying to change the people on the other side, it's going to fit in and become one of them. And I really resonated with that story. And I didn't realize back then I was too young,

but it was kind of what I was going through. My Indians were just the new cities I was visiting. And so that movie really followed me for a long, long time. And it's still in my top three. And sometimes I talk about it with friends and I like it, but it's so aggressively American. And I'm like, you, it's, I love it. It's, you know, yeah. I feel like everything Americans make is just aggressively.

That's true, yeah. That's the only thing I can, I can think of, apart from my grandmother, who's always supported me and always give me all the love I needed. I always felt a void in my family because my mom had a little. a lot to work on and she was, you know, being the wife of a professional soccer player is very demanding and she was the artist. She was a painter, a singer, an amazing cook and she kind of put all her artistic fibers aside to just raise four children and I believe it created a bit of frustration and so the way she communicated her love was wasn't very very much. verbalized, it wasn't physical, it was, you had to take the hints, you know, through her cooking

or little tiny things. So my grandmother gave me that, gave me that very basic, I love you, hugs, blah, papa. And so those were the two constants, my grandmothers and grandmother and wolves. Yeah, and Kevin Costner. And Kevin Costner. America's father. What was your relationship with your siblings at this time? Because you mentioned feeling lonely. Do you think they were going through something similar and you guys weren't talking about it? I have an older brother and we were pretty close. But, you know, it was entering a face of, you know, I'm, I'm, it was just two years older.

But when you're in, when you're in college, it's just like, it's a mountain. It's, couldn't talk to his friends, too, blah. And my younger siblings, they were twins, a fake, fake twins, we say in France, just a girl and boy. and they had their own thing going on you know they were just their own team in their own bubble and so it was kind of the the guy in the middle that had no problems that had nothing to complain about and and so maybe required less attention on their on their perspective but I turned out to be the most sensitive and the one that really needed to be taken care of but I never verbalized it It's also my fault.

I didn't know how back then. And I developed this superpower of pushing people away when I need them the most. So it's a weird condition. It seems to me that there are some universal things. And somewhat you're describing feels, certainly feels similar to me. I know that 12 to 20 for me was the most challenging period of life thus far. We shall see what the future holds, right? But where were you at that age?

So at 12, I moved to, those are the eight years that I was in L.A. working, you know, and we're not working and being frustrated. But I guess I'm, but I was also an only child. At least I grew up an only child. My half-sister's so much older, we never live together. At this point then, what did you see in the horizon? If acting, I mean, you could start these classes. So did that become something you thought you might do?

Or did that just become something that you treasure that was like, nice, but you just were like, all right, I'm going to keep going to school. And what did you see, what were the options open to you? And where did you think you'd end up then? It really didn't become a thing until later on. I never thought like, oh, this is what I want to do. This is going to be. It felt very volatile, you know, like a lot of people want to do it.

And I didn't have enough confidence or I didn't feel like I needed to be. I was the solution to any problem or any storytelling or anything but that comes with self-love I guess but yeah it just took me a long time to actually seriously pursue it I've heard you say

that you think that if any conscious person if they're confident then it's an act like it's pretend and I'm that resonated with me I feel the same about

myself at least. I don't know if it's true for everybody. But I wonder if you can think back to that time of like 12, 13, 14, if you can think of a particular moment where maybe you portrayed confidence, you projected confidence, but inside you felt afraid. I feel like at that age, you portray a lot of confidence. It's the worst kind of confidence because, you know, I feel like at that age, it's when you start thinking that you know everything about everything. and you have so many certainties and you couldn't be more wrong so it's when

it's a slow motion car crash and your parents are trying to warn you but you want to cut ties and you're like they don't understand anything anymore and I think we all go through that some I was smarter than than I but yeah I was I was never

crazy teenager like super rebellious but I was was I was filled with certainties and I had a lot of disappointments and and humiliations as well. I feel like life is, I read that book called The Five Wounds that prevent you from being yourself. And it's very interesting. And they talk about humiliation, injustice, rejection, abandoned, and I always forget the fifth one. We all have a major one, a major wound, and a bit of the other ones.

And it defines your physicality, for example, abandon. You kind of want to disappear. So it's a very thin, very, you know, and I had humiliation. So I kind of built, can you say carapace, a shell, like a total shell. Sorry, I'm doing all this in a foreign language. Bear with me. I know, it's incredible. Remarkable.

Thank you. And it's very interesting. I don't know why I'm talking about this book. I lost track of my... No, I want to read it. It seems so meaningful. It's very interesting. It's very interesting.

I've heard of that. I've definitely heard of that. And it sounds like it's a framework that really has something to it. You named a few of these wounds. You defined yours as humiliation. You know, something we do in this show, really kind of like the key idea, the core idea of back in the day when we first started it was thinking about these like awful awkward humiliating stories from this time you know from growing up we like to ask guests if they have

any awkward or embarrassing stories but i'm also thinking you know if if you're willing to share if you're willing to share um what what of what of humiliation is at least in english a little bit of a strong word to use depending on the context yeah what how is it that humiliation um marked your growing up years. Are there one or two kind of instances or is it just a way that you felt? For me, humiliation was maybe embedded in the fact that since I was playing so many personas, I was being an imposter and I didn't want to be, you know, found out or or discovered. So I guess it started, those personas also were.

hand in hand with me started to lie about a few things, you know, just because I didn't have a pass with those friends. I didn't, I could, I could kind of shape reality. And you're at an age where, like, you're trying to do anything to get what you want and to be loved and accepted and validated. And I would, I would shape reality sometimes. And I guess it's a dangerous game to play because once you start, you know, and you know you can obtain anything by just changing a word or shifting something it can once it circles back which it did for me um it's it's it's not even humiliation anymore it's uh it's it's it's it's it's a full on questioning your personality and life's choices and and shifting in a that's when i started actually building the person i am today

it's it's it i decided to be to be in truth when in doubt truth a doubt i decided to just only seek truth. And it really changed everything. Ben and Sophie and I are all practice the same spiritual practice called the Baha'i faith. And there's this quote that's like very well known in the Baha'i community, which is truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues. And it's this idea that even if you can like excel in every other way, if you're, if you're pointed in a direction that's not truthful, none of them have value. So I think that's like such a powerful lesson and just like really helpful to hear and like reaffirms that belief. Thank you.

Yeah, I mean, you strike me as a very humble and you strike me as a truth seeker. I mean, just your countenance and the way you're speaking and reflecting about yourself. So I know that you may feel as though, I mean, you're describing, struggling with that attribute, but our weaknesses become our strengths and our strengths become our weaknesses, you know. So that's, it's kind of a beautiful thing the way that works out. I can say it's beautiful. You might say, well, it's been really hard, but. No, no, I think you're right.

Actually, I haven't heard that sentence in a long time, but it never made more sense to me. You're absolutely right. I have zero notes. Nothing too hard to that. I know we're supposed to make conversation, but it should be able. No, but if we nailed it, we nailed it. It's true, yeah, it's true.

Stick around. We'll be right back. All right. So let's just, let's just real talk, as they say for a second. That's a little bit of an aged thing to say now. That dates me, doesn't it? But no, real talk. How important is your health to you? You know, on like a one to ten?

And I don't mean in the sense of vanity. I mean in the sense of like, you want your day to go well, right? You want to be less stressed. You don't want it as sick. When you have responsibilities, I know myself, I'm a householder. I have two children and two more on the way. a spouse, a pet, you know, a job that sometimes has its demands. So I really want to feel like when I'm not getting the sleep and I'm not getting nutrition, when my eating's down, I want to know

that I'm being held down some other way physically. You know, my family holds me down emotionally, spiritually, but I need something to hold me down physically, right? And so honestly, I turned to symbiotica these these vitamins and these beautiful little packets that they taste delicious. And I'm telling you, even before I started doing ads for these guys, it was a pretty good. product that I really, really liked and enjoyed and could see the differences with. The three that I use, I use, I use the, what is it called, liposomal vitamin C, and it tastes delicious, like really, really good. Comes out in the packet, you put it right in your mouth. Some people don't do that. I do it,

I think it tastes great. I use the liposomal glutathione as well in the morning, really good for gut health, and although I don't need it, you know, anti-aging. And then I have I also use the magnesium L3 and 8, which is really good for, I think, mood and stress. I sometimes use it in the morning, sometimes use it at night. All three of these things taste incredible, honestly. You don't even need to mix it with water. And, yeah, I just couldn't recommend them highly enough. If you want to try them out, go to symbiotica.com slash podcrushed for 20% off plus free shipping.

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visit ixl.com slash podcrush to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price what about what about like romantic relationships or crushes or you know i mean be like that's such an important part of life at that age and then every stage after uh how was that for you and we have this stereotype in the u.s that the french are like very romantic from a young age and i'm curious if that stereotype is true. It's true or not. Oh, la la. Yeah, the show made it, yeah, amplified everything.

But all the cliches and, like, the things I hear, it's, yeah. I feel like I've spent most of my life until my late 20s, just prioritizing relationships, long relationships. Because early on I discovered that it was the fastest way to grow up through someone's vision, accepting to be vulnerable. And also it was the fastest way to accept some of the things you thought were defaults or issues or like physically wise, mentally wise. And to be able to be fully yourself in the presence of someone else and to see that it's, you know, you're not a monster or you're not weird or you're not a deformity or it's it's it's mind opening it's crazy and then then it opens a field of just experimenting and also losing someone

is makes you grow 10 times faster so um yeah it was this is kind of the only thing I was interesting and I didn't I didn't see why I should spend in any time uh on anything else than you know finding the the truest the most intense form of of love possible it's like that i don't know if you um in in nineteen 98 john crack hour who wrote uh into the wild was part of an expedition uh on mount everest and they you know you have different levels and the last the last one the last camp you enter that they what they call i think the dead zone because you have to wear oxygen masks and it's it's very it's a very the last part is very hard and so you get to the top and then you come back down and just take your picture and

you leave and you have you have to have perfect weather and so they they went on this they started the last the last ascension and they reached the top and on the way down the Mount Everest they they went through the worst storm that ever happened on Mount Everest over centuries and everybody started like falling there's also a thing where it gets so cold that you actually feel

like you're too warm and you start in dressing so people started like freaking out losing their head and so the few of them that made it back to camp witnessed like I think 17 hours later one of them coming back from the mountain and they left him for dead.

His tank was almost done. He was like face on the snow. And this guy came back 17 hours later and he was like his nose was frozen. He lost it later on his hands as well. But when they asked him, what happened? We thought you were dead. You were out of energy, out of everything. He said that I just thought about my wife and my daughter.

And it just, they actually did a TED talk about this. And it's just crazy for me that love is the only, It's the only thing that doesn't require nutrients or food or water or anything exterior. It's an energy that can fuel your entire body just out of a thought. And so that's why I've always been fascinated by it, but not on the simple, not on a simple level. I think it's very, very complex. Lucas, we usually will press our guests to tell us a story from middle school, but for every question maybe you've given us you've given us like the beginning of a story but

mostly you've just like given us lesson after lesson after lesson I feel like you have reflected so deeply on your life already that there's already a lesson in every to every question and I'm wondering what's your process for reflection maybe maybe it's something specific or maybe it's just your way of being but like do you write do you sit and thought what happens How is it that you have all of these at the ready? Do you meditate? I'm not good at meditating. I wish it was a, it takes practice.

I just believe in silence, honestly, which is close to meditation. But I think the time you don't spend talking, you can spend listening. And I feel like one of the biggest problem we have nowadays is there are a lot of people have a lot of things to say and nobody's listening anymore. So I try to There's actually a moment like this In La Grande Beleta. I don't know if you saw that

Italian movie where there's a scene with this this I think is like a painter or an artist and the main character asks his friend is like, why is he not talking? Why is he? It's like he's not talking because he's listening and he says it

in Italian, it's very beautiful. And it's crazy the thing you can understand and see when you're just contemplating and listening. And yeah, a lot of people have a lot of things to say, so I'm trying to listen. I'm going to read back a quote to you,

which I know can sometimes be uncomfortable, so apologies, I'm going to do it anyway, because it's really thoughtful. So I read this in a, I think it's in a recent interview. You said being an actor can't be defined by success or celebrity. If it vibrates within you, if it's a need, if discovering who a character is helps you to discover who you are. If it's therapeutic, then it's worth it.

I think we're all hurt or traumatized and are looking for answers within acting, or maybe for a massive amount of love within a short amount of time. For actors, there's always a void to fill. Today, we're being sold the idea that we can have everything all at once. So we feel like choosing is renouncing an infinity of other possibilities. But it's when you choose, when you commit, when you engage, that life starts happening. I read it multiple times. I think it's so profound, so meaningful.

There's so much that you could explore. But my question is, what answers have you found in acting and which questions continue to fuel you. First of all, most of that quote, I took it from how to, I don't know how to pronounce

it in English, a goat? Goet? I guess, Goeta. People avoid saying that name in English, I think.

Yeah. So you say go-go-to? Go-to, yeah. I mean, honestly, I've not said it out loud much. I've read it more than I've said it out loud. Yeah. Here's the opportunity.

I read a beautiful thing he said about choosing. It's just a tiny little 10-line poem about choosing and how when you choose Providence engages with you and little signs appear to help your decision. And so I was kind of working around that. But I feel like what's interesting, it's my personal experience, but acting is about, you know, it's about truth.

And since I found out that it can be therapeutic, every character I play out of my long-lasting career and the hundred movies I've done, every actor I play, a character I play, I give him one of my traumas or one of my wounds or unresolved issue or whatever. and it plays it's it's kind of a double win because I I kind of take it away from myself and so I kind of resolve it through the character and at the same time I give my character

something real which which helps the yeah the part the the character to be to be honest and sincere and I work and I work work around that that wound to build his essence It's a weird industry. It feels like when it starts, when things start moving and you get into the hamster wheel, it feels like you need to find a way to make your own therapy through a project, find vacation within a project. It's very weird, you know? I'd be curious to know how you feel about it as well, honestly.

Man, yeah. I mean, well, what you said about it being truth, like somehow finding truth. You have to find truth in what you're doing because everything else is 100% false. You know, like there's not a single thing about the moment or what you're doing or allowed to do.

Nothing that you're wearing, nothing that you are saying is what you've chosen to do. It's not spontaneous at all. It's like 100%, 1,000% constructed. Everything is leading up to this moment and then you have to somehow discover a way for it to feel true,

for it to feel real. for it to seem spontaneous, that is the skill you're honing, which is so valuable in other places in life. It's like, because it is being present kind of despite all of that. And those moments that you fall into being truly present, spontaneously feeling what you're meant to feel exactly as you're meant to feel it, because you have been able to forget how false everything is. I mean, including the person you're looking at,

sometimes they may not really be in it, you know? Sometimes, like they might be, but they might not. And so, but there's these unbelievable, mercurial moments, like catching a really big fish or something, you know? It's like it's, as a fisher, I know. I've never literally caught one fish in my life. Yeah, it's a really special thing. And you strike me as somebody who is sort of doing that,

you know i'm not i'm not trying to blow smoke up your ass and say and say that it's like you know you're you're just this unprecedented truth seeker in this but i mean just just just just honestly you're you know you you strike me as somebody who's discovered this too and you're just kind of like all right this is this is the way i'm living my life and that's it's really cool it's you know not always what people expect from one uh netflix star to another it's just not what people tend to expect I'm glad you're the one you're the one who mentioned that I won't have to

I'm in the middle of I'm actually doing I'm doing press for Libre or freedom I don't know I think it's not a great name and freedom but I'm finishing

press for my Netflix show as well and since now it's a two-parter I don't know if they do it with yours as well. They've done it for the last

maybe just they've only done it for season four. Yeah. Yeah. Which is not for any artistic reason. It's just for people to just subscribe. Yeah, it's something you get more subscribers.

I think it really works for Stranger Things. Stranger Things works because Stranger Things is like every episode is an epic. But I've been, for some reason, it was the biggest past year we've done. We went to Amsterdam, New York, L.A. Krakow and a crazy place to Paris. And it's, you know, it's a very, it's a show about fashion, about, about, about Paris, about

hairspray and, and, and, and, and, and, and, it's, it's, exactly, yeah, in that order. The things that define you. It's, it's, it's so weird, because now we're having this conversation, but it's so weird for, for the last month most of the questions I've been getting is where do you get the best class line in Paris and what is you?

Ah, way! Wait, but I do. I want to know. I want to know. Can you just send a text after? Yeah, we don't want to ask that same lame question. Yeah, we'll offline about that. You know, look, the irony, I think, is that New York City has taken

so many of the bests from around the world that chances are you can get the best croissant in New York City that's my that's a great answer that's a great answer but I've been to look in Paris there look if you're going to go to any place

yes Paris is the place because you can just get you know you're gonna like you're solid if you really want a croissant if you really want one you know but I think if you want like the one that is gonna make you you you know I really feel like I bet you it's in New York City

you probably get it in New York also New York has great water so our dough is amazing but the better is better in France so But also you know what's interesting Just on the topic of food and croissants Yeah Lucas I think I was about to praise us We're not asking those questions

And we've been like all right This is interesting This is interesting Finally we've been wanting to ask Okay I'm not talking about your wardrobe I brought that on myself The first season I think of chef's table They said something really interesting

Because they found the best pizza In Japan Yeah And they were saying the reason is because in Italy, there's, like, so much, there's, like, routine. There's things you have to follow, you know, you have, there's tradition. But in Japan, they don't have to follow any rules because nobody's making pizza and you can make it however you want. And so I often find that that's true. Like, you find the best of something that's, that's supposed to be iconic in one place.

You find it elsewhere because they're not afraid of breaking rules. Yeah. Well, you should tell Italy because they're still trying to make croissant and it still tastes like It's terrible. Terrible. Okay, Luca, we should talk about Gabrielle.

Obviously, this character is really beloved and has catapulted you to sort of international recognition, which I don't know how you feel about that. I have a suspicion. But it would be really great to hear sort of your journey. Spendez does about his show. Yeah, there we go. That's an easy one.

I'm curious to hear sort of your journey of getting the show. And then I'm also curious, I think the show has adjusted. I'm now going to introduce my personal theories and biases. I feel like the show in the first season was more stereotypical about French people, maybe in a negative light. And over the seasons, it feels like it's showing a fuller picture and we see more scenes in French and stuff. Less croissants, I think, by season four. Maybe.

But in particular in season one, it did feel very stereotypical. So I'm also curious, how did French people react to you being part of the show? Were they mad at you? This is sort of my two questions. What was your journey of getting the role and what was the reception in France? The journey was actually funny. It was a month and five editions. And by the last one, I started being confident.

It was out of 200 people, it was only two of us. And they called me one morning and they were like, I'm so sorry, you're too green, Paramount. doesn't think you can't, you can handle five months of shooting for your first project. It's too big for you, which I, which I kind of understood. And at the same time, I was like, if you don't give me a shot, I will never have experience. And so I went into the shepherd's house we were talking about to make goaches and stuff, to forget about all this. And at some point, someone asked me for my phone, some guy that was,

going god knows where it was like can i guy can i bore your phone i need to call my daughter and i was like there's no reception here and it's like but if you if you go like 40 minutes away you walk to that big rock there's there's like a couple bars and so he left with my phone and he eventually came back and he was like your when i got service your phone was you know that's that's that's an impression of a french hiker And I had like 30 missed calls and messages and so on. So I went, I got back to Paris. And before I knew it, I was at the Lutetia, it's an hotel in Saint-Germain.

And I was in a room with two producers from Paramount, two writers, Darren St. Aaron Starr, our showrunner, a director, and Lily Collins are our main actress. And we did a chemistry read. And I was so confused. I didn't know what I was doing here. And they, they, I don't know, they kind of led me to think that I was auditioning for other guys that she would eventually date in the show, but not, not the main, not Gabriel. But they still gave me the, the, the, the scenes from Gabriel that I, that I, that I, that I, that I knew my heart at this point.

And I was like, ha, it's a bit, it's a bit harsh, you know, from them to, you know, play with the back. Come on, guys. Don't you have anything else I can read with? So I kind of went like, I know the lines. And we did the chemistry read. And apparently it turns out Darren Starr or a showrider wanted me to be Gabriel from the start. But the studios were like, he's too green, he's too green. And once they did the table read with the other actor, he was like, he's not the part.

He's a great actor, but it's not the Gabriel I'm looking for. He pushed for Paramount to fly to Paris and to meet me in person. And in that room, I actually talked about go cheese for 15 minutes. And when I left the room, it was like, I can't believe what is wrong with me. And afterwards, you know, Lily told me, I think that's what made the difference. You know, it's the, and they called me to the next day telling me, okay, it's you and you're starting in two days and it went from

to, yeah, it was really fast. From an outside perspective of someone who does believe in like divine forces that assist us and you talked about that poem and like Providence will enter, it seems like in a way it was your destiny like for that man to take your phone, try to reach his daughter let you know about it. Yes, yes, yes.

Darren loves that story by the way. Lily still thinks I invented all of it. I do believe that you know, when things are supposed to happen, they happen you know they have like many trajectories but they will happen and also believe that life doesn't give you what you want unless you're ready to receive it and I'm kind of glad I didn't I don't want to say make it because it's it's a very very nuanced but I feel like if I had experienced what I'm experiencing now back like 10 years earlier when I really wanted it even more

maybe for the wrong reasons I don't know who I would be right now and how I would survive this crazy circus that this industry is. So actually, can you take us back to a little bit? So we've spent a lot of time reflecting like with

so much sobriety. You clearly have, you know, you've gained maturity and some wisdom. But so take us back to when you had less. You were newly in L.A. And were you ever chasing it the way that you just kind of

indicated for a moment it's weird because when I when I moved to LA I was I was just I get asked a lot so were you pursuing acting and I didn't do anything in LA I was there for a long time and I

just I just I was just living with nothing and and I would ask one dollar to a friend every day and go to Taco Bell because they had this 99 cents burrito by the way I lived off of that

burrito for a period too right before Gossip Girl. When I read that, I was like, that burrito. Yeah. You guys had spin flames. It's so big. It's such a big thing. Yeah. I take my life. I started working in restaurants and supermarkets and stuff like that. And I would, I just, I would wake up every morning and go to this website that I'd like announces for student films because I was trying to get on student films and gather enough like images to make a demo and find an agent back when I thought agents were a necessity and and then I started I registered into a commercial agency so to speak and I did like a little commercial for a bank and a little commercial for this and that which was it helped me sustain my absence of lifestyle I guess but at this.

Then I, two years before Emily in Paris, I decided to drop everything and to pursue acting unapologetically and just don't have any parachutes, I feel like, you know. And I was like, I have so many friends that wanted to do it, but at the same time still have the security of being a real estate agent or stuff like that. And I was like, I feel like if I take this as seriously as I fill it in my heart, I need. to it needs to be the only option and for that i took a leap and i i entered an acting school there is that is only revolves around benevolence and acceptance and deep polluting yourself and and i couldn't have been in a school where there's competition and people are just like and they created this tiny little bubble where you trans dance meditation paints and all those things And on my last day of class, as I went out to get a sandwich, I ran into this old friend of mine who was casting director for, like, reality TV, but turned into an agent.

And she was like, oh, I always appreciated you. Do you want me to, can I represent you? I'm an agent now. And I was like, I don't think it's the right time. I'm still studying. And she said, I'm just going to send you stuff and you'll tell me what you think. There's nothing to sign of no commitment. And the first thing she sent me was Emily Paris.

And it just just happened like that. But to answer the question shortly this time, it was probably at 29 when I started to make it the only option and then being super serious about it. And we'll be right back. Fall is in full swing and it's the perfect time to refresh your wardrobe with pieces that feel as good as they look. Luckily, Quince makes it easy to look polished, stay warm, and save big, without compromising

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about how communities and public systems can work together, where the schools went is a story you need to hear. From the branch, in partnership with the 74 and Midas Touch, where the schools went is out now. Find it wherever you get your podcast and start listening today. before we transition to your new project which sophie will lead us down that path i wanted to ask you one final question about emily and paris because you mentioned earlier that you like to infuse your characters with a real trauma of your own and if you're open would love to know what little piece of luca what do i infuse in gabriel yeah i could be he felt darker in the final season i will say he feels a little more well it's it's actually it's the writing and maybe it's maybe it's part of me not

wanting to be there anymore. No, I'm kidding. It's a well-received joke on this show. Let me tell you. It's just, there are so many boys next door, I feel like through the years that I've been portrayed in many, many shows. And I was like, what can I bring? What can I bring that it's going to be a bit refreshing?

Because also, it's the most difficult thing I've ever had to play is the overly confident boy next door so i i was like let's let's let's let's make him a modern man let's infuse feminity um and vulnerability that's all i wanted i wanted him to be in tune with his feminine side and vulnerable and there was a voice in my head that is like you know because you're always i grew up in this world that is like as a bit of toxic masculinity so there was always a word in the back of my head like 1% saying like people are going to think you're weak or your your your character is like a, but I just leaned into it. I made that choice and people connected to it.

But the thing is, it kind of works when the writing is uplifting at the same time. And since in season four, everything went dark, it became kind of a sad character. And I would love for him to get a bit of stamina again because it's a bit more fun to play in that particular show. Thank you. So your latest project, Libre, is stunning. I feel like it has a very distinct visual style right away. And the music is so good. And I'm wondering when you were auditioning for the role or before you took it,

did you have any idea of that visual style, what the aesthetic would be like? Was it shot on film? It looks like it was shot on film. It wasn't shot on film, but they achieved that render. They did it really well. Yeah. And I know Melanie told me that she didn't want to fall into the caricature of making an 80-style render like they do 70-style movie. And even for the clothes, they didn't want, you know, sometimes you watch a movie about the 70s and everybody looks great, you know. Yeah. From the guy at the vending machine and she wanted something imperfect and image-wise same. But it turned out, most people told me it looks like it was shot.

in the 80s, which I think is a great compliment for Melanie. But it's all her. She's an amazing director, honestly. Yeah, that's beautiful. Sophie and I were texting about it yesterday because we got the screeners yesterday. And like, oh, my God, have you seen it yet? And the visuals and I was telling Sophie, like, I can't think of the last time I saw a period movie that felt like it was actually from the period.

Like, you can just always tell that they're trying to recreate the period. But this one, it was like, oh, man, I really feel like this is a period. period movie like they did something really they just like really pulled it off to heads off i think it has something to do with the mullet you know the fringe and the millet that just make the difference i actually was thinking as i was watching you and i thought this hairstyle is going to come back just because of just because of this movie it's actually already back in australia everybody's i feel like i never left there to be honest i feel like they always stayed mullet strong In the penal colony.

What was it like for you playing somebody who not only was a real living person, but somebody who had died? I've done that once before, and I've found it to be, I mean, you know, we've had kind of spiritual leanings in this conversation. I'm curious, as you approached Bruno, like what that was like for you. You kind of want to respect him, you know, respect what he represented, what he stood for, and who he was. And also you want to respect his family, his friends, and at the same time, you have to kind of make it your own, you know, because even though the research is fascinating, it's the best preparation I've ever done before a movie, you have to bring a bit of yourself. So to appropriate yourself, sorry, it's not exactly, something like that. something and

it's yeah there's a sense of a mission you know so our last question is is take as little

or as long as you want with it if you could go back to your 12 year old self to 12 year old Luca is there anything that you would say or do I would say I would say

you're loved you're forgiven and you're trying your best and and it's enough beautiful that's really beautiful really beautiful

look I thank you so much and don't wear those tight jeans anymore yeah everyone's going to be wearing wide leg don't worry This was such a lovely, thoughtful conversation. I really appreciate him talking to you.

Likewise. You know, we're so grateful. You can watch Lucas Bravo in Freedom on Prime out on November 1st, and you can follow him online at Lucas N. Bravo. I'm not saying Luca because it's like saying Chile. Chile. I will, I will, I'm not going to try that hard. I could tell when I said Lucas Penn.

Ben got closer to his mic. We are so excited that you can now listen to Podcrushed ad free on Amazon music. In fact, you can listen to any episode of Podcrushed ad free right now on Amazon Music with an Amazon Prime membership. Is it your older brother who became the, the agent, the football agent? Yeah, he's a lawyer. Lawyer. Okay, and then, so also our research is all done online, so it's fallible.

I don't know if it's accurate. You have a sister who, is it she studied psychology, and she has gone into that? She's a Pilate instructor. Okay, great.