The Bear, starring Jeremy Allen White as an award-winning chef, has gained a positive response from the audience since its premiere on Hulu two years ago in 2022. The show follows White’s character, Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto who returns to his hometown of Chicago to manage a rundown kitchen at his deceased brother’s sandwich shop.
Given that his chaotic performance of managing the kitchen met with great reviews, he spilled the beans about one specific episode that transcended the line between acting and reality.
Jeremy Allen White Talks About Blurring the Between Acting and Reality in The Bear Episode 7
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In a 2022 interview with Interview Magazine, the lead actor of The Bear, Jeremy Allen White talked about his experience working in the series. As he delved into how he prepped for the role along with other significant details, he was asked whether he ever transcended the lines between acting and reality during filming, and he confirmed the same.
He mentioned,
“Actors talk about it a lot, but a prop is your friend. And, cooking in the kitchen so much in the show, I can’t speak for everybody, but for me, it made everything else seem a lot more natural. Like we belonged there, and the words came out easier.”
Having become comfortable with his surroundings, everything eventually seemed more natural to him as he added how he didn’t have to think much about his dialogues.
“You don’t have as much time to think about your lines, because you’re thinking about your actions.”
That happened when he was filming single-shot episode 7 of the show.
“And then, in episode seven, which was a single shot, that’s the best. You can get totally lost because you’re in the moment so consistently. You’re not hearing, ‘Cut.’ There’s no more setups. We don’t have to wait for lighting. You can just dive in and ride it out.”
He further added,
“I think everybody got a little lost. I think that’s what most actors are chasing in front of the camera or on stage. To get a little bit lost.”
The seventh episode titled Review is set in real time, following the characters as they prepare to open the shop when the kitchen gets into chaos.
The Bear‘s Episode 7 Was Shot in a Single Take
The Review episode is the season’s shortest episode at 20 minutes, 18 of which are presented as a single take. The lead actor explained to IndieWire that the show was not intended to be a single take initially “until maybe two or three weeks before it was scheduled.”
Hence, creator Christopher Storer, and executive producer Joanna Calo rewrote the entire script of the seventh episode. Allen White explained,
“We were able to start at the beginning, which I think helped. They still managed to keep all of the important story points in place for [Episode 7], but they wrote it as a blueprint to allow us to shoot it in one shot. That was very important, obviously, for it to start with the words.”
The chaos captured in the episode ended up making it popular. It received critical acclaim for its originality and actors’ performances along with other elements. The show has been renewed for a third season in late 2023.
