In case you haven’t heard, Dominic Sessa, the breakout star of The Holdovers, is being eyed to lead Tony, the upcoming A24 movie about the late celebrity chef and author Anthony Bourdain. I hear about casting news all the time, and rarely do I get as excited about an actor in talks for a role as I am right now. Upon hearing the news, I thought to myself, “Yeah, that makes perfect sense.”
Though Sessa is new to the Hollywood scene (The Holdovers was his first film role), I cannot think of a better person to play Bourdain, especially if the movie follows his Kitchen Confidential days when he was getting started and making a name for himself as a rebellious, motivated and unorthodox chef in the New York scene. And no, it’s not just because the young actor looks almost identical to the man he’s tapped to portray. Let me explain.
Dominic Sessa's Holdovers Performance Was A Revelation
The Holdovers is one of Paul Giamatti’s best movies, and it featured an emotionally gripping Da’Vine Joy Randolph performance. However, the turn that fascinated me the most was that of Dominic Sessa with his portrayal of Angus Tully. Sessa’s breakout performance as a young and intelligent, yet broken prep school student being abandoned by his family over the holidays was a revelation, if I’m being perfectly honest.
Here was Sessa, a young and inexperienced actor, holding his own against two highly decorated co-stars, both of whom went on to win Oscars, Golden Globes and various other accolades. The way the up-and-coming star was able to handle complex emotional scenes one minute and then jump to others requiring great comedic timing was something to behold and added so much to an already great movie.
Alexander Payne’s coming-of-age dramedy was essentially Sessa’s coming out part and introduction to the world, and it was just the beginning.
Sessa Has Proven He Can Be Witty And Sarcastic, Which Is A Must To Play Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain was an incredible chef and brilliant writer, and he had a personality that drew you in better than most. A lot of that has to do with the fact that he had a great sense of sarcasm and a unique wit about him. He even famously appeared in an episode of The Simpsons where he poked fun at himself and his signature personality.
When Dominic Sessa plays Bourdain in Tony, he’ll need to be able to capture that sarcasm, wit and unique sense of comedy that made the late chef something more than a cook, but instead one of the great minds of modern American culture. But this shouldn’t be a problem for the actor, as his feature film debut saw him trading barbs with Paul Giamatti’s Paul Hunham from start to finish, several of which were teased in the Holdovers trailer.
It will be remarkable to see Sessa channel the spirit and energy of Bourdain when playing a younger version of the late chef, especially now he will have a few more performances under his belt to better fine-tune those skills before then.
At The Same Time, He Has A Certain Tenderness That'll Be Perfect For His Portrayal Of The Late Chef
One thing that made Anthony Bourdain so endearing was the tenderness, vulnerability and soulfulness of his personality. Were there better chefs? Yes. Were there better travel writers and TV hosts? Also yes. But few, if any, captured the hearts, souls and imaginations of restaurant guests, readers and viewers better than Bourdain. He had a way with words, a way with humans and a way about him that felt both raw and real. I think Dominic Sessa has proven that he can accomplish that in a performance.
If you look back on some of the most tender scenes in The Holdovers, you’ll find more than a few where Sessa looks less like an actor playing a high schooler grappling with the pain and confusion of teenage life and a broken home, and more like a real-life teenager trying to make sense of it all. That innate ability will be key to his portrayal of Bourdain because at the end of the day, he was just trying to make sense of life… and the universal awesomeness of Waffle House.
Like A Young Bourdain, Sessa Is An Up-And-Coming Star With Something To Prove
Much like Anthony Bourdain getting his start in restaurants in New York City back in his younger days, Dominic Sessa is a young and hungry actor with something to prove while also making a name for himself. I would love to see how he could channel that energy and use it to make his portrayal of Bourdain even better. Using the performance as an analog for himself, Sessa could use all the praise, criticism, desires, and doubts to give audiences one of the great portrayals of our time.
This could be that next step in Sessa’s career and cement him as one of the great contemporary actors, one we’ll be talking about for years, if not decades, to come. Who knows, we could be seeing Sessa’s name come up whenever early Oscar predictions are discussed for the foreseeable future.
Okay, Sessa Does Look Remarkably Similar To Bourdain
I know I said Dominic Sessa would be perfect to play a young Anthony Bourdain for reasons besides their similar appearances, but that comparison does help. While they don’t look like identical twins or brothers, Sessa and Bourdain look like they could be cousins or not-so-distant relatives with similar facial features, hair and physicality, especially when looking at old photos of the late chef.
All of the best biographical dramas over the years have seen actors who either look identical to the famous people they’re playing (such is the case in Timothee Chalmet’s A Complete Unknown) or at least somewhat similar. And again, Sessa looks eerily similar to the man he’s being tapped to play.
I, for one, cannot wait to hear more about Tony and how Dominic Sessa will portray the iconic and dearly missed Anthony Bourdain. But while we wait, there are some promising upcoming 2024 movies to hold us over, including one of the most anticipated music biopics in some time.
