Omar Sy on Playing a Sex Symbol in Netflix’s ‘French Lover,’ Why the Rom-Com Is Like a ‘Reverse “Notting Hill”’ and Producing His Projects to Avoid Being ‘Pigeonholed’ (Exclusive)

When French actor-producer Omar Sy started working on the Netflix romantic comedy “French Lover,” what scared him the most wasn’t playing a sex symbol or showing some skin for the first time. It was depicting the French showbiz world in a way that wouldn’t make it a caricature.

In the Paris-set movie — which launched globally on Friday — Sy stars as Abel Camara, a famous yet jaded actor who’s just been dumped by his actress girlfriend. He unexpectedly falls in love with a down-on-her-luck waitress (Sara Giraudeau), who is going through a divorce and doesn’t care about his fame.

The feature debut of Nina Rives, “French Lover” also sees Camara and his entourage, including his agent (Pascale Arbillot) and childhood friend (Alban Ivanov), navigating the ups and downs of the film industry as the popular actor vies for more “serious roles.” The movie reteams Sy with Hugo Gélin,…