Lucien Laviscount Teases An “Adventurous” Emily In Paris Season 5

Lives were changed when Lucien Laviscount first appeared as Emily’s British love interest, Alfie, on Emily in Paris Season 2. The U.K.-based actor was initially only cast to appear in a couple of episodes, but his charm and chemistry with Lily Collins landed him an ongoing role on the hit series. Though Laviscount was reduced to a recurring cast member in Season 4 after Alfie and Emily split up, he’s been re-upped to a series regular in the upcoming Season 5, which will air on Netflix Dec. 18.

Although the 33-year-old actor does not appear in the trailer, rest assured he’ll have a big role in the upcoming installment. “Coming back has been a blessing every year,” says Laviscount, who teamed up with the cat food brand Sheba for their 4AM Sleep Stories campaign. “I love Darren [Star, EIP’s creator]. We are really close. But as much as we get along and we're personal friends, at the end of the day, if Alfie doesn't serve the storyline anymore, that’s it. I don't think the actors should take that personally. It's just the way that the story plays out.”

While Laviscount wouldn’t reveal any details about his character’s upcoming arc, he won’t be a background character. “They wanted to keep me around, and they managed to figure it out,” he says. “I'm really, really happy with the work I was able to do this season. We definitely see Alfie in a different light. This season, it’s a little bit more adventurous. We’re going to see all these characters come to life — they've done some living and they've gone through some stuff. The growth is there.”

[This season is] going to flip a lot of things on its head.

Laviscount can’t reveal too much about what’s coming, but he adds, “I've got to really tip my hat to Darren for believing in the character and coming up with a storyline, which I think is going to change... it's going to flip a lot of things on its head.”

The guys at Netflix were like, ‘Lucien, just nod and say yes.’

The actor is gearing up for a busy winter — he also has a role in the highly-anticipated film adaptation of Emily Henry’s novel People We Meet on Vacation, which comes out on Netflix on Jan. 9, 2026. “I just got a call saying, ‘Look, do you want to do this gig? It’ll be an in-and-out shoot in Barcelona,’” he says. “The guys at Netflix were like, ‘Lucien, just nod and say yes.’”

Filming was a very covert operation. “I didn't get the script straight away, so I was in the dark a little bit. Way later down the line, I put the pieces together myself a little bit and figured out what I was getting into,” he says. “Next thing you know, I was whisked off to Spain. I felt like I was like an MI6 agent with the amount of security that was on that set.”

With all that secrecy, it’s no surprise that Laviscount cannot reveal much about his role in the film, but he did let one teaser slip: He hasn’t actually acted opposite the movie’s leads. “Tom Blyth and our leading lady [Emily Bader] are incredible,” he says. “It's funny because I didn't meet a lot of my castmates. A whole movie together, but we never saw each other. So the premiere is when I’ll get to see everyone face-to-face.”

Below, Laviscount shares his dream roles and collaborators — plus, the blunt advice he’d give Emily Cooper.

Elite Daily: Do you have a favorite fictional cat?

Lucien Laviscount: Simba from The Lion King. My cat's called Simba.

ED: What’s the last show you marathon-watched?

LL: I just watched Arcane again, which I thought was fantastic. And I'm watching Task, which is brilliant.

ED: Favorite rom-com of all time?

LL: I've got to say Alfie [a 1996 film starring Michael Caine]. Does that count as a rom-com?

ED: Go-to song to get in character for Alfie?

LL: James Brown’s “Get Up Offa That Thing.”

ED: What advice would you give to Emily?

LL: Sort your sh*t out. Sorry, excuse me.

ED: Dream co-star or collaborator?

LL: I'd love to work with the Safdie brothers. That'd be cool, and I think Michael B. Jordan would be fantastic to work with, too.

ED: Dream role?

LL: I would love to do a biopic, playing Harry Belafonte or Arthur Ashe.

ED: Do you have a group chat with the Emily in Paris cast?

LL: No, we don’t. I get the question a lot, and I think everyone lies about it. If they do have a group chat, I'm not in it.

ED: What has been your biggest pinch-me moment?

LL: I was doing Scream Queens a while ago, and I was in New York to promote it for Fox. I ended up getting dragged on a night out with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrence Howard.

I had press at 5 a.m. the next day, so I kept saying, ‘Guys, I have to leave now.’ I eventually managed to sneak away at a reasonable hour. I got to the hotel and was waiting for the lift. When the doors opened, Morgan Freeman was standing there. I stumbled like an idiot. He just asked, “Coming up?” And I was like, "Sh*t, I'm dead. This is God telling me I'm going to heaven.” I got in the lift, faced the wall, and he asked, "You OK, kid?" And I was like, "Yeah, I'm good."

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.