The Beef’s kitchen is a constant cacophony of shouting, several of the characters are ticking time bombs of grief, and Carmy is an exacting boss over several perfectionists. The Bear, created by Christopher Storer (an executive producer of Ramy and internet verité film par excellence Eighth Grade) has several of those staple ingredients. See: AMC’s bland Feed the Beast in 2016 or, in 2018, Starz’s disappointing Sweetbitter (whose star, Ella Purnell, has found much meatier material on Showtime’s breakout hit Yellowjackets), both limp dramas about the cutthroat New York food scene that struggled to establish stakes beyond the plate or to grip without overdone cliches of anger, sexual tension or neurotic perfectionism. But that intensity has rarely translated well to scripted television. Series such as Masterchef, Chef’s Table, Top Chef, The Great British Bake-off, and Netflix’s recently rebooted Iron Chef have accustomed viewers to the pressure of the kitchen, the heat of the stove and a timer breathing down one’s neck. 1 one on the call sheet should look like.It’s a high-cortisol view of cooking that is very familiar to audiences, given the plethora of cooking competition shows on every platform. He’s a lovely presence on set so I think all of us on “Shameless” were really lucky to have him as sort of like a compass for what No. He set the tone and we’ve all admired him for 11 years, not only for his abilities as an actor, but the way that he behaves on set and the amount of respect he has for the rest of the cast, whether they’re there for a day or 11 years, like us, and for the crew. That being said, when I signed on to do it, I thought about Bill Macy because Bill was our leader. 1 on the call sheet, which doesn’t seem like that important of a thing, it is such an ensemble, so it didn’t feel that different to me. WHITE: I guess I’m The Guy but I find our show to be a lot like “Shameless,” where it is a really big ensemble. Macy's many children), to being The Guy on a show?
And so whatever you need, we’re here to help.” But I am nervous about now walking into kitchens, having some people perhaps seen my work on the show and being disappointed in Jeremy’s skills up close.ĪP: What was it like going from being a part of “Shameless” for 11 years (playing one of William H. Please hold my hand through this process.” And everybody was like, “Yeah, you’re an actor. WHITE: I always walked into kitchens in preparation for this apologizing first. It’s just the repetition, I think.ĪP: Are you worried now about shadowing chefs who have perhaps seen the show? I can hang out with the best chefs in the world, but if I’m not coming home and cooking for myself and my family, then that’s where the comfort and ease comes from. Then I just need to keep cooking at home. Production has some calls into places to see if I could do a week here or there. It was a nice way to get to know Carmy through that process.ĪP: If season two explores fine dining, do you feel you need to go back in for more training? I’ve never worked so hard at a skill for a character ever before. WHITE: For almost a year I was working with different chefs in different restaurants, going to culinary school, and it was really exciting to start to understand a character through studying a skill they've learned. We want to get into fine dining a little bit more and Carmy opens more of the restaurant of his dreams and then let’s say Carmy does find success, is that going to make him happy? Is he going to be OK or not? I think that’s an interesting thing to play with, too - to give a character kind of everything they thought they wanted and then to see if that makes them OK.ĪP: Talk about the training you had to take on this role. WHITE: Chris and I have talked broadly about some ideas. Macy on “Shameless.”ĪP: What would you like to see happen in season two? White tells The Associated Press about learning to cook for the role, what he imagines for the second season and what he learned from working with William H. And I think that’s such an exciting thing for an actor to play, because you aren’t allowed a casual moment.” That’s how high the stakes are in his head all the time. If he fails, I believe that Carmy feels as though he would die. The stakes seem so high for him all the time. “His identity is so wrapped up in being a successful chef. When he read the script, White says "my heart broke for Carmy" because the character has no life outside of the kitchen.
“That's the goal with any kind of art but it's rare when it happens.” “It's connecting with people in the exact way we hoped for,” said White. White would often speak with the show's creator, Christopher Storer, about how they wanted the viewers to feel while watching. Get the NBC 7 San Diego app for iOS or Android and pick your alerts.
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