Get to Know Emily in Paris's Sexy New Love Interest, Lucien Laviscount

“I was a cocky little kid, I’m not going to lie,” Lucien recounted to Harry Connick Jr. in an interview. The 29-year-old actor, who began working at the tender age of 10, said how he got into acting is “a little bit bizarre,” and it all started with “a big afro” and a “beautiful shopping attendant.” After some words of encouragement from his mom, little Lucien went over to the young saleswoman and in a low sultry voice said, “Baby, listen, are we getting out of here or what? Because I don’t know about you, but I think The Lion King is showing down the road.” He didn’t get her number, but he did score an invite to a casting call for a new kids clothing line from the woman standing nearby. Lo and behold, it was for David Beckham’s DBO7 line.

To say Lucien’s audition process for Scream Queens was an emotional rollercoaster would be an understatement. After sending in an audition tape from the UK, the actor was invited to an in-person audition with the series’s director, Ryan Murphy. Within a hour of leaving the studio, Lucien got a phone call saying he didn’t get the part. “I was devastated,” he told Fox 11 Los Angeles. “I knew it was something that I really really wanted.”

If you’ve seen the horror series, then you know Lucien’s audition journey has a happy ending. Later that same day, the actor got a follow-up call from Murphy, who told him he was going to write him into the script; he wanted Lucien to be a series regular. His character’s name was Earl Grey, a playful nod to his British roots.