The Davids, possibly. Messrs Beckham and Gandy, naturally; Sir David Attenborough, for very different reasons. Then Ms Adriana Lima, more girls than guys, actually. And possibly Mr Anton Du Beke. Although that was mainly my mum. Outside of that incongruous cohort of the physically blessed and/or nationally treasured, I can’t think of an interviewee who’s aroused the same level of “interest” among friends and family as Mr Lucien Laviscount. “Are you sure you don’t need an assistant?” asked the wife/sister/brother-in-law/PR exec I had lunch with the day before. My wife’s never even seen Emily In Paris. But she could make herself “available”.

Laviscount, born in Burnley, northern England, to two bodybuilder parents – talk about good genes – was having dinner in New York when he received the call that would change his life. “I bolted out of my seat and ran out of the restaurant into the middle of the road. I think my friends were a bit spooked – they didn’t know if I was happy, or going to be violently sick.”

Thirty-six hours earlier, Laviscount had Zoomed into an audition with Mr Darren Star – creator-producer of Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place and Sex And The City. Star was looking for a love interest for the protagonist of his latest, Paris-based series Emily In Paris. The gig, explained Star, was Laviscount’s. How quickly could he report for duty on the other side of the pond?

“I’m just counting my blessings,” Laviscount says on the success of a show that made it into Netflix’s Top 10 most-watched series in 93 countries. “Being on a show like Emily, that so many people watch, and receive so well... it’s just really lovely.”

Before long, Laviscount, newly anointed the web’s hottest new “Internet Boyfriend” (a phrase unbeknown to this writer prior to research for this interview, you’ll understand) thanks to his role in season two as Alfie, a suited-and-booted banker from London, was being invited to Oscar parties and hearing his name swirling in the James Bond rumour mill. In fashion, he became hot property.

Laviscount hadn’t set foot in the French capital before Star booked the first viable Eurostar. Today, the 31-year-old is the toast of the country’s top fashion houses, sitting front row in an almost fully-unbuttoned tropical-print shirt at Jean Paul Gaultier’s AW23 Haute Couture show and literally stopping traffic outside Louis Vuitton’s AW23 menswear event. Wearing mirrored sunglasses and an ice-blue pleated skirt, Laviscount climbed on top of his taxi's roof to wave at swooning fans. Now, there’s a man with confidence.

“My personal style? I’d call it classic elegance with a little edge,” he says. “I like to experiment with different looks and trends.”

Laviscount, who you can see in Shakira’s latest music video, credits Mr Lenny Kravitz and Prince as style inspirations. Plus, David Beckham, “for pushing the boundaries and the perception of masculinity”. It was, incidentally, Beckham who first put a 10-year-old Laviscount in touch with a Manchester drama school, the two having met at a fashion shoot for Marks & Spencer.

Actor. Model. Heartthrob. Fashion muse. And, it turns out, watch guy. Last year, Laviscount was named French GQ’s best-dressed man of the year. To the awards ceremony, he wore a double-breasted tuxedo from Dolce&Gabbana and a rose-gold Maestro 8.0 Squelette from Gerald Charles. His everyday watch is a rose-gold, skeletonised Cartier Santos. “It’s the perfect fusion of sophistication and timelessness,” he says.

Laviscount credits a childhood memory for his grown-up fascination with watches. “I have a very vivid recollection of my grandfather’s pocket watch,” he says. “As a child, I used to be fascinated by the intricate mechanisms inside – the sound it made when it was wound, the sound it made when it ticked. It was a symbol of elegance, of something reassuring.”

At last year’s Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty, Laviscount wore an all-black Dolce&Gabbana sleeveless velvet waistcoat with a matching corset and charcoal-grey opera gloves. A week earlier, he had attended a Versace show in Los Angeles wearing an orange leather suit, sans shirt, and an enormous silk scarf. As with his clothes, the actor finds himself drawn to watches that push the envelope.

“Anyone that offers something distinct, something different,” he says. “I love the TAG Heuer Monaco. Steve McQueen! Le Mans! Is there a more iconic sports watch? I love Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak. What Richard Mille is doing with materials is insane. The Bulgari Octo is really cool, really contemporary but also somehow completely timeless.”

His money-no-object grail watch? “Tough one. A toss-up between the [Richard Mille] RM 56-02 Tourbillon Sapphire and [Audemars Piguet’s] Royal Oak ‘Jumbo’ Extra-Thin.”

Which watch would Laviscount choose if he could wear only one for the rest of his life? “Ah man. It would have to be the Cartier Santos. It holds a special place in my heart – I like to think it makes enough of a statement while still being elegantly understated.”

What is it about watches? “Not sure, to be honest. There’s something about a watch that a smartphone just could never replicate. Wearing a watch is a statement; it says you appreciate and respect good craftsmanship. I think watches stand as symbols of sophistication in our crazy-fast digital world. They possess a magic for me, a charm.”

Which is exactly what my wife said about Laviscount.