Jeremy Allen White Hopes Sam Rockwell Is the Next A-Lister to Join ‘The Bear’
The Bear is already stacked with Hollywood talent, but star Jeremy Allen White has another big name he hopes joins the show.
“You know who I love, and I’ve always loved so much, is Sam Rockwell, and I feel like he would fit somehow into the world,” White, who headlines the comedy-drama Chicago chef Carmy Berzatto, told TheWrap in a new interview. “Like a buddy of [Richie, played by Ebon Moss-Bacharach] or something. You know, I feel like he would really, I don’t know. I feel like there’s room for him in the Bear universe.”
Rockwell is known for his roles in the films Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Moon, Seven Psychopaths, and Richard Jewell, and he won a supporting-actor Oscar for his performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. On TV, he starred in the FX series Fosse/Verdon.
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An appearance by Rockwell in The Bear would be the latest casting coup for the FX series, which streams on Hulu. The Season 2 episode “Fishes,” for example, boasted the talents of Jamie Lee Curtis, Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Jon Bernthal, Gillian Jacobs, and John Mulaney.
“It’s so weird, you know?” White said. “I think when [creator] Chris [Storer] started putting that cast together for [‘Fishes’], I was like, dude, that’s a lot of juice. Like, that’s a lot of big names, you know. Is that going to be distracting? … What was amazing is, so quickly, everybody just fell into place. Everybody knew exactly what was necessary from each of their roles. They’re very happy to exist in that space.”
But White was impressed by the result. “I found that, even in watching the episode, you very quickly — and it’s a testament to their performances — you very quickly forgot you’re looking at Odenkirk, and Jamie, and they just kind of blend into the environment,” he said. “And they become a part of the show, and it wasn’t distracting.”
The Bear, Season 2, Streaming Now, Hulu
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