The Bear is an FX TV show, streaming on Hulu, that centers around a young chef, Carmen, who takes over the family restaurant when his brother dies. Prior to this, he had been a successful chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant in New York City. Returning to Chicago to run the Original Beef of Chicagoland creates a stark contrast between his past and present. Despite his obvious talent as a chef, star Jeremy Allen White – speaking to W Magazine – says that Carmen is “a fish out of water” in this more casual restaurant. This is made worse by kitchen staff who are reluctant to work and family drama that threatens to boil over at any second.
The Bear cast is made up of talented actors, with many who have been on other successful shows. However, they are largely not huge-name stars, so placing these actors in a grimy kitchen setting might make them harder to recognize. The names Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Lionel Boyce might ring a bell, but it’s hard to put a face to the name and figure out where you’ve seen them before. But never fear, we’ve done the digging for you and have all of their other notable acting roles in this list.
Jeremy Allen White
The star of the show, literally, is Jeremy Allen White in the role of Carmen or "Carmy." Carmy is the prodigal son returning to his home of Chicago when his brother leaves him his restaurant in his will. Outside of The Bear, White's most recognizable role is Lip Gallagher on Shameless. Speaking to GQ, White acknowledged the similarities between the characters, recognizing that he was "going from playing a gifted kid in a dysfunctional working class Chicago family to … a gifted kid in a dysfunctional working class Chicago family."
White started very young in the business. At 15, he played the younger version of Clive in Beautiful Ohio. White also had a few guest appearances in Law & Order. He also had small bits in movies such as The Speed of Life, Afterschool, Twelve, and Movie 43. He also had a role in Dave Franco's directorial debut, The Rental, and as the co-lead in Viena and the Fantomes.
Ayo Edebiri
Ayo Edebiri is a writer and actor, although on The Bear she is just acting as Sydney. She is a professionally trained chef that Carmy brings into the restaurant to try and improve the standard of food they produce. Ayo Edebiri may seem like the youngest member of the cast, but she’s been in the show biz for a while; she started her career doing stand-up comedy for Comedy's Central Up Next.
Since 2017, Edebiri has been a writer for Netflix's animated comedy show Big Mouth, and in 2020, she took over as the voice actor for Missy after Jenny Slate's exit. Another TV show she wrote for and acted in is Dickinson, Apple TV's creative interpretation of Emily Dickinson's life, where she played Hattie. She's also the voice actor for Ham in the interactive special We Lost Our Human for Netflix. Coming up, she's the new April O'Neil in the animated film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Carmy's volatile cousin Richie is played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach. Having a brief appearance in Law & Order might seem like a rite of passage for new talent in Hollywood. Ebon Moss-Bachrach played three different roles in three spin-offs of the show: a college student in Criminal Intent, Danny Wallace in Trial by Jury, and a guy named Justin in Special Victim Unit.
He's also had minor roles in The Royal Tenenbaums, Mona Lisa Smile, and Lola Versus. He also had a notable role in Lena Dunham's Girls, in which he played the sensitive but manipulative Desi Harperin. Another recognizable role for Moss-Bachrach is David Lieberman in Marvel's The Punisher, where Jon Bernthal plays a vigilante. Other places that you might recognize him from are Hulu's The Dropout, in the role of John Carreyrou, or Star Wars: Andor, as Arvel Skeen.
Liza Colón-Zayas
Liza Colón-Zayas' role in The Bear is Tina, a stubborn but ultimately caring member of the kitchen staff. In her other work, she is known for a role on the show In Treatment, about a psychotherapist who begins seeing his old therapist because he starts doubting his abilities — Colón-Zayas played Rita Ortiz. She also took part in the coming-of-age drama David Makes Man, playing Principal Fallow. It's also possible you may recognize her from The Purge: Election Year where she played Dawn.
Lionel Boyce
Marcus, played by Lionel Boyce, is a sweet member of the kitchen who deals with the desserts and has lovely chemistry with Edebiri's Sydney. Boyce has a long-standing relationship with Tyler the Creator, and the two have partnered on several projects. The music videos for Tyler the Creator's songs She, Oldie, and more feature Boyce in some way. The two have also worked together on an animated Adult Swim show called The Jellies! It's about a human boy who is adopted by jellyfish. Boyce voices various characters across the show's two-season run. Another show he has featured in is Hap and Leonard, as Leon, set in the '80s. The show is a comedy crime drama.
Abby Elliott
A rare member of The Bear cast who is not a chef of some sort, Abby Elliott plays Natalie, or "Sugar," Carmy's sister. She is the responsible counterpart to his recklessness and emotional thinking, trying to get Carmy to sell the restaurant instead of watching it continue to lose money. Elliott was a cast member on SNL from 2008 to 2012. During her time on the show, she portrayed Chloë Sevigny, Angelina Jolie, and Joan Cusack, to name a few.
Some movies that she starred in include No Strings Attached, as Joy, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as Taylor. She recently played Tricia in the remake of Cheaper by the Dozen and has done numerous voiceover work in shows such as Ugly Americans, Stars vs. The Forces of Evil, and Home: Adventures with Tip and Oh. She also had a small stint in How I Met Your Mother, playing Jeanette Peterson for five episodes.
Matty Matheson
The role that Matty Matheson plays is small, but he was also a producer on The Bear. Matheson is an internet personality and chef, lending his experience in the kitchen to provide realistic color to the show. Viewers are most likely to recognize the chef from one of the several online video series he has taken part in. He appeared regularly on the food segment of Vice's website, Munchies. Matheson also hosted shows for Vice TV named It's Suppertime! and Dead Set on Life.
Joel McHale
It's a brief role, so much so that he's never given a name, but noteworthy enough that viewers may have been left wondering where they recognized Carmy's boss in New York from. He is played by comedian and actor Joel McHale. His best-known performance is Jeff Winger on the cult comedy show Community, about a group of unlikely friends at a community college.
McHale also hosted the television news series The Soup from 2004 to 2015. Interestingly, in Netflix's movie retelling of the story of the National Lampoon, McHale played ex-Community co-star Chevy Chase. Viewers may also recognize him from his character Tad O'Malley in the reboot of The X Files, or for playing Chris on The Santa Clarita Diet.