Back in 2011, Showtime’s adaptation of the UK’s Shameless took the world by storm upon its debut. Throughout the 10 years that the show was on the air, the cast garnered significant attention and love from fans. One of the show’s leading young stars, Jeremy Allen White, became a heartthrob phenomenon among fans through his role as Phillip “Lip” Gallagher. Despite his difficulties in saying goodbye to his role and the show in 2021, Allen White went on to develop and further expand his career on-screen.
His latest leading role saw Allen White join a talented ensemble in The Bear, a culinary comedy-drama that tugs at the heartstrings. Similar to Shameless, The Bear changed several of its cast members' lives and gave some its actors a chance to really display their talents on-screen. But who forms part of this talented cast, and where have you seen them before?
8 Jeremy Allen White
Coming in first we have the show’s leading man, Jeremy Allen White. Prior to starring in the culinary drama, Allen White had extensive acting roles. Best known for his portrayal of Lip Gallagher in the 10-year-running comedy series, Shameless, Allen White has garnered over 20 acting roles to his name. Other notable credits of Allen White’s include Joseph Shrier in Amazon Prime's Homecoming and Elliot in the 2018 romcom After Everything. In The Bear, Allen White portrays the character of Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto.
7 Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Up next, we have Ebon Moss-Bachrach who portrays the character of Richard “Richie” Jerimovich in The Bear. Prior to his role as the gruff chef in the culinary series, Moss-Bachrach was perhaps best recognized through his appearance in Netflix Marvel’s The Punisher where he also starred beside The Bear’s Jon Bernthal. In the action-packed anti-hero series, Moss-Bachrach portrayed the character of quirky tech genius David Liebermann in its first season. Other notable roles of the 45-year-old include Desi Harperin in Girls and John Carreyrou in The Dropout.
6 Ayo Edebiri
Coming in next we have Ayo Edebiri who portrays the character of Sydney Adamu in The Bear. Prior to her role as the hopeful young chef in the show, Edebiri was perhaps best known for her stand-up comedy. Despite the actress and writer only having a handful of acting roles to her name, Edebiri is certainly a skilled and multi-faceted creative. Notable roles of the 26-year-old include, Missy Foreman-Greenwald in the critically acclaimed Netflix comedy, Big Mouth, and Hattie in the Hailee Steinfeld-led show Dickinson.
5 Abby Elliott
Up next, we have Abby Elliott who portrays the character of Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto in The Bear. Prior to her role in the series, Elliott was best recognized through her recurring participation in Saturday Night Live from 2008 to 2012. The talented young actress also has a plethora of acting credits to her name with several appearances in sitcoms such as 2 Broke Girls, How I Met Your Mother, and Inside Amy Schumer. Her most recent role before The Bear saw Elliott form part of the main cast of Dan Levy’s sitcom Indebted, in which she portrayed the role of Rebecca Klein.
4 Matty Matheson
Coming in next we have Canadian chef and beloved internet personality, Matty Matheson. Prior to starring in the series, Matheson was a well-known chef and internet personality who rose to fame due to his viral career on Vice Media’s Munchies. Not only does Matheson star in the series as handyman Neil Fak, but the talented chef actually acted as a consultant on The Bear according to TV Insider.
While speaking about creating the menus shown in the series, Matheson stated, “I would write out the menus and go back and forth with them [writers] and then write out the recipes, and then we would literally have to train because we wanted everyone to do it for real.”
3 Lionel Boyce
Next up we have the series’ doughnut chef extraordinaire Lionel Boyce. Professionally known as “L-Boy”, Boyce’s public presence stemmed from his participation in the musical ensemble Odd Future. His previous roles on-screen included those in other Odd Future-related projects such as L-Boy in the sketch comedy Loiter Squad and various voices on the adult animated sitcom The Jellies!. In The Bear, Boyce portrays the character of Marcus, the restaurant’s driven baker. While speaking to Vulture, Boyce went into detail about how his love for doughnuts connected him to the character of Marcus.
The actor stated, “I love doughnuts and I love desserts. It’s the best research. I didn’t need to, but I was like, ‘Well, now you gave me a reason to go around L.A. and try to find the best doughnut in the whole city.’ I spent a lot of time doing that. But no lie, the doughnut is what connected me to it because I do love doughnuts.”
2 Liza Colón-Zayas
Coming in next, we have New York-born actress Liza Colón-Zayas. Prior to her role in The Bear, Colón-Zayas was not only a seasoned actress but also a talented playwright. With over 40 acting credits to her name, the actress appeared in a number of films. Colón-Zayas also appeared in a number of pretty big television shows as a guest star such as Sex And The City in 2004, Dexter in 2010, and Blue Bloods in 2016. In The Bear, Colón-Zayas portrays the role of Tina.
1 Edwin Lee Gibson
And finally rounding off the list of talented actors is theater performer, Edwin Lee Gibson. While the actor is perhaps best known for his theater presence after having appeared in 103 professional theater performances, Gibson also has a handful of on-screen acting credits to his name outside The Bear. Notable on-screen roles of the actor include Bill Russell in the 2022 series Winning Time: Rise Of The Lakers Dynasty, and Mr. Jones in the 2022 film, Rounding. In The Bear, Gibson portrays the role of Ebraheim.
