The ‘Emily in Paris’ star spills the beans on the lucky break that kickstarted his career and how his ancestral home became his ‘happy place’ in an exclusive interview with Luxury Locations’ Nadia Dyson.
Roguish good looks and precocious sassiness might have been what got him noticed, but it was an intervention from football legend David Beckham that was the catalyst to Lucien Laviscount’s phenomenal career.
Even at 10, “I was full of confidence,” the ‘Emily in Paris’ star grins, recalling how his breakthrough came about as a result of attempting to chat up a store attendant while out shopping one day with his mum. As incredible luck would have it, a woman standing nearby was casting for a campaign for the British department store Marks & Spencer. The modelling job turned out to be for Beckham’s DB07 line.
Lucien was fooling around on set one day when the sporting icon suggested he try his hand at acting.
“He got his assistant to get in touch with a small acting school in Manchester, who got in touch with my mum, and that was the start of it really,” he says. “Big up David Beckham.”
That cocksure chutzpah as a nipper translates—at 30—into a good-natured charm with a touch of swagger. Both are in full force during an exclusive interview with Luxury Locations’ Nadia Dyson on the terrace of a Jolly Harbour property that the star has been renting for the last few months.
A planned three-week vacation in February 2020 to Antigua—where his father originates from—morphed into a nine-month stay when the pandemic struck. Lucien wouldn’t be the first to admit Covid inspired him to rethink his priorities.
“Covid was a big kick in the backside to really level down on what makes me happy and where I’m at my best,” he says. “Antigua gives me perspective on life and what life really means. We don’t have much time—I feel a lot of people figured that out during Covid. Here is where I feel most creative, content, and driven.”
He has since purchased property in Antigua and is currently searching for land on which to build what he calls “a forever home.”
“It came down to time and where do I want to spend my time. I move around a lot for work, but to know I’m coming back here after a long shoot or wherever I might be, it’s a nice feeling,” he says.
Lucien was born in Burnley, Lancashire—hence the northern notes in his English accent—to Eugene, a bodybuilder from Antigua, and Sonia, a Brit. His impish grin is momentarily replaced with earnestness as he recalls how his parents never let him forget his ancestral roots.
“My father is from here. He left when he was 13 or 14. But we used to come back here every year; no matter what was going on, my mum and dad made sure we came back to our roots.”
“And this is it now, this is home. I mean, why would you leave?” he adds, gesturing to the impossibly blue stretch of the Caribbean Sea unfurled behind him.
Lucien’s Instagram posts of him bare-chested in the aforementioned water, pecs and abs in all their chiselled glory, telling his two million followers that Antigua is his “happy place,” are the kind of advertising the Tourist Board can only dream of.
Ask him which is his favourite beach, however, and he’s staying schtum. Jolly and Darkwood are “beautiful,” but there’s one a little more hidden that tops them both. “I’m keeping that one in my back pocket,” he laughs.
His preferred eateries are lowkey—a tiny roti hut, and rustic seafood and rum haunt Papa Zouk.
“There are such great little gems on the island,” Lucien says, adding that his own home cookouts could give them a run for their money. “My barbecue jerk chicken will light up your life,” he smiles.
Whether Lucien’s character ‘Alfie’ will return to Netflix hit ‘Emily in Paris’ when season four hits the screen later this year remains to be seen. Fans will recall a broken-hearted Alfie walking out in the final episode of season three after it was revealed his girlfriend, the show’s titular character, was secretly in love with straight-laced chef Gabriel.
Last December, Antiguans were treated to an early preview of the most recent season shortly before its global release. Guests invited to the exclusive launch seized the chance to watch the first two episodes at a special event at Barnacle Point. The American romantic comedy-drama propelled Lucien to worldwide stardom when he made his first appearance in season two in December 2021.
British audiences, however, may remember him as far back as 2007 when he had a role in the seminal teen drama ‘Grange Hill’. Lucien also appeared in the iconic British soap ‘Coronation Street’ in 2009, in BBC One’s ‘Waterloo Road’ series a year later, and in ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ in 2011. In 2015, he earned a prime US role, playing Earl Grey in Fox’s horror-comedy ‘Scream Queens.’
Earlier this year, there was rampant speculation that Lucien was in the running to be the next James Bond, a position left vacant by the 2021 departure of Daniel Craig. What is confirmed is a lead role in the upcoming rom-com movie ‘This Time Next Year’, adapted from Sophie Cousens' novel of the same name. Lucien will play Quinn, opposite ‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’ actress Sophie Cookson as his love interest, Minnie.
The film tells the story of Minnie and Quinn, who are born in London on New Year’s Day, in the same hospital, one minute apart. Thirty years later—and as very different people—they find themselves thrown together again in the same city on New Year’s Eve. It is being directed by Nick Moore, editor of British hit comedies ‘Love Actually’, ‘Notting Hill’, and ‘The Full Monty’.
Asked about his ultimate goals, Lucien says he’s reluctant to “put any boundaries” on his work.
“I want to do more action, some more comedy. I want to keep learning and be the best actor I can be,” he imparts. He concedes that an acting career is a road fraught with bumps and obstacles. To anyone thinking of pursuing it, he advises “finding happiness in everything else but acting.”
“It’s a torturous road filled with ‘no’s. The highs feel so high, but the lows also feel really low. Be prepared that there will be more no’s than yeses. But there’s nothing to really attain, there’s no end goal, and that’s the beautiful thing,” he continues. “As the world changes, there will be more stories to tell, so don’t give up.”
Regardless of what the future holds for Lucien professionally, there are some things firmly within his control. One is to introduce a “whole train” of friends to Antigua, “to show them part of who I am.” Another is a plan to build a media school on the island to give a leg-up to local kids who may never get the serendipitous break he did.
“I’ve got some friends who really want to invest with us and make it a hub of the West Indies. It’s a way of giving back and giving kids an opportunity to jump in with the likes of everywhere else in the world and make sure they have a head start,” he explains.
Lucien also intends to set up a production company to create videos and shorts highlighting the twin-island nation’s unique characteristics. His father’s homeland has all the right ingredients for a bright future, he thinks.
“Antigua is what you want it to be; it’s a paradise with no ceilings, no floors, just a perfect canvas to make it what you want. It’s not oversaturated, it’s not tainted yet, it’s still Antigua,” he says, looking out across that lustrous water. “The sunsets blow my mind. In this west coast spot particularly, you get a special type of candyfloss in the sky.”
By Gemma Handy
