The second season of The Bear brings together the entire culinary team, with Jeremy Allen White reprising his role as Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto.
The first season of The Bear was some of the most emotionally rich, soul-stirring viewing of 2022. Between Carmy’s grief and stress, Richie’s stubborn ways, and Sydney’s ambitious plans, The Bear quickly became one of the best TV shows around.
After impressive viewership and a rapturous reception, Season 2 was a grand success, too. Fans watched as The Original Beef of Chicagoland transformed into a “next-level spot,” with a grand opening that left us smiling and sweating like never before.
With The Bear Season 3 out now what better time to refresh your memory of what’s come before?
Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto: Jeremy Allen White
Jeremy Allen White plays Carmy, a decorated chef who’s still battling his own demons as he faces new challenges. He turns the restaurant into The Bear, finally fulfilling the dream he and his brother, Michael shared. He also finds love, sort of. But, the last we saw, Carmy was locked in a fridge and had just driven his girlfriend, Claire, away.
Speaking to Esquire, he said: “We’re trying to build out the restaurant that Carmy has imagined for a long time; he’s turning The Beef into something a bit more elegant. And I think the really interesting thing about Carmy’s arc in Season 2 is that he has the opportunity to get everything that he wanted when we met him, and the question becomes, Is that enough? Is that going to make him happy? Is that going to bring him joy?”
Before The Bear, White was known for starring in Shameless as Lip Gallagher, as well as The Rental and Homecoming. Most recently he starred alongside Zac Efron in The Iron Claw cast, one of the best movies of the year.
Richard “Richie” Jerimovich: Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Ebon Moss-Bachrach plays Richie, Carmy’s ‘cousin’ who was friends with his late brother. He wasn’t keen on Carmy’s changes, nor did he appreciate Sydney telling him what to do, but he’s since “admitted Carmy and the restaurant are all he has.”
In Season 2, we see Richie finally realize how much he cares about his craft, and his rendition of Taylor Swift’s ‘Love Story’ is easily the best part of The Bear soundtrack.
“Richie is very much the soul of the restaurant. He’s the front-facing part. He knows everybody’s name. He’s like community relations,” he told Deadline.
Moss-Bachrach appeared in Andor last year, and he’s also starred in Girls, Netflix’s The Punisher, The Dropout, and No Hard Feelings. Look out for him when the Fantastic Four release date comes around, too, though you may not recognize him as The Thing.
Sydney Adamu: Ayo Edebiri
Ayo Edebiri plays Sydney, a young chef who joined The Beef’s crew and quickly became Carmy’s sous chef — and she refused to accept any abuse or condescension in the kitchen.
Season 2 sees Sydney really step up and go toe to toe with Carmy. She helps him become a better person, is not afraid to challenge him, and shows just how deeply she cares about cooking.
Edebiri has also starred in Dickinson and Abbott Elementary, and she’s done voice work for the new Clone High series, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
Marcus: Lionel Boyce
Lionel Boyce plays Marcus, a pastry chef who — unlike his colleagues — was excited by Carmy wanting to change up things at The Beef. Now, the spark that ignited in sweet Marcus when Carmy returned to Chicago is further fueled by the creation of The Bear. In Season 2, Marcus excels as a pastry chef, and even teams up with Will Poulter to learn new tricks.
Boyce has appeared in Loiter Squad, Superstar, and The Jellies. Fun fact: he also voices L-Boy in Grand Theft Auto V. Bring him back for GTA 6, we say!
Tina: Liza Colón-Zayas
Liza Colón-Zayas plays Tina, a line chef who pushed back against Carmy and Sydney, but later revealed herself to be a lover of tradition, and the restaurant, with Richie and Mikey at the helm, was what she knew. In Season 2, Tina soared to new heights, attending culinary school and opening up emotionally, too.
Colón-Zayas has also appeared in Titans, Car Person, Collateral Beauty, and The Purge: Election Year.
Ebraheim: Edwin Lee Gibson
Edwin Lee Gibson plays Ebraheim, a longtime line cook at The Bear. In the second season, we see him go to culinary school with Tina, though he doesn’t have the best of times there. Luckily, Tina helps him get over his apprehension.
Gibson has also starred in Unprisoned, Rounding, Fargo, and Mom and Dad.
Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto: Abby Elliott
Abby Elliott plays Sugar, Carmy’s sister, in The Bear cast. While she is skeptical of Carmy’s endeavors in the first season, Sugar dives in head first in the second installment and ends up running the financial and planning side of The Bear restaurant.
Elliott rose to fame on Saturday Night Live before starring in Sex Ed, Odd Mom Out, and Indebted.
Neil Fak: Matty Matheson
Matty Matheson plays Neil Fak, the restaurant’s chef who was also a friend of Michael’s before his death. He’s known Carmy since childhood. In Season 2, he gets more involved in the team, earns the respect of those around him, and helps The Bear come to fruition with his handyman skills.
Matheson is one of Canada’s most famous chefs, having amassed more than 175 million views across his YouTube shows. He has six restaurants across the country and he’s also a two-time New York Times best-selling author.
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Uncle Jimmy: Oliver Platt
Oliver Platt plays Jimmy, Carmy’s uncle who lent $300,000 to Michael to help run the restaurant. However, he’s not a knee-breaker — he wants to help his nephew, and after finding all the money in the Season 1 finale, we see him really put his money where his mouth is in bringing the restaurant to life.
Platt has an extensive list of roles, having starred in The West Wing, Frost Nixon, X-Men: First Class, Fargo, and Chicago Med, among many other movies and shows.
Claire: Molly Gordon
Molly Gordon stars as Claire, Carmy’s childhood friend who he reconnects with in the early episodes of Season 2. She is one of the new characters in The Bear cast and ends up being Carmy’s love interest. Whether they stay together in the next season, though, is another matter.
Gordon has also appeared in Animal Kingdom, Booksmart, Good Boys, and Shiva Baby. She recently made her directorial debut with the hit musical comedy, Theater Camp.
Luca: Will Poulter
Will Poulter has a guest role in The Bear Season 2 cast as Luca, a Copenhagen-based chef who helps Marcus with his patisserie journey as he tries to create new desserts for the restaurant.
Poulter made his MCU debut as Adam Warlock in the Marvel movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. He’s also starred in Dopesick, Midsommar, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, and We’re the Millers.
Uncle Lee: Bob Odenkirk
Bob Odenkirk makes an appearance in Episode 6 of The Bear Season 2 as Uncle Lee. Unlike Uncle Jimmy, he doesn’t have a particularly warm relationship with anyone in the Berzatto clan — especially Mikey.
Odenkirk is best known for his portrayal of Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, as well as his work in Nobody, Little Women, and Saturday Night Live. We can’t wait to see him return in Nobody 2.
Michelle: Sarah Paulson
Sarah Paulson appears in Episode 6 of The Bear Season 2 as Michelle, a Berzatto cousin who lives in New York City.
Paulson is best known for her roles in American Horror Story, as well as starring in Ratched, Run, Mrs. America, and Glass.
Stevie: John Mulaney
John Mulaney plays Stevie, Michelle’s partner who looks forward to the chaos of a Berzatto Christmas every year. He may be an outsider, but he’s treated like any other member of the family.
Mulaney is a renowned comedian who’s had several successful specials, as well as voice roles in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and Big Mouth.
Tiffany: Gillian Jacobs
Gillian Jacobs plays Tiffany, Richie’s ex-wife. We meet her during the Christmas flashback episode when they’re still together and she’s pregnant, and we see the beginnings of their relationship falling apart.
Jacobs is known for starring in Community, Girls, Love, and Netflix’s Transatlantic. She also voices Atom Eve in the Invincible cast.
Donna: Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis plays Donna, the fierce matriarch of the Berzatto family. In the flashback episode, we see how her alcoholism and emotional abuse have shaped her children in different ways.
Curtis won an Oscar in 2023 for her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once. She’s best known for her roles in the horror movie franchise, Halloween, as well as True Lies, Trading Places, and Freaky Friday.
Michael “Mikey” Berzatto: Jon Bernthal
Jon Bernthal returns as Mikey in Episode 6 of The Bear Season 2, telling stories “everyone’s heard a million times” and eventually coming to blows with Uncle Lee at the dinner table.
Bernthal is known for his performances as Shane in The Walking Dead and Frank Castle, aka The Punisher. He’s also starred in The Wolf of Wall Street, Fury, and Baby Driver. We’ll see Bernthal reprise his Marvel role for Daredevil: Born Again.
Chef Terry: Olivia Colman
Olivia Colman plays Chef Terry, the head chef at a three-star restaurant where Richie learns about decorum and the values of fine dining.
Colman is an Oscar-winning actress who’s starred in The Favourite, Peep Show, Hot Fuzz, Heartstopper, and even popped up in the Secret Invasion cast.
That’s the Season 2 cast wrapped up. If you’re all caught up, check out what ‘keep the spoon‘ means, The Bear Season 3 soundtrack, and our The Bear Season 3 recaps.