The Bear cast is made up of colorful and unique characters, from the loud-mouthed Richie and the more cool-headed Sydney, to the eager-to-learn Marcus and the veteran chef Tina. At the center of this kitchen-based craziness is Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy Berzatto, the award-winning chef who returned to Chicago to take over his brother’s restaurant, and as of the Season 2 finale is now running a new dining establishment.
As Hulu subscribers know all too well, Carmy keeps a wide circle of people in his life, between the members of his family, which are comprised of both blood relatives and longtime friends, as well as the staff he works with on a daily basis and various other individuals with whom he has special ties. We’re here to talk about these most prominent of The Bear characters while we wait for news on The Bear Season 3 and continue relishing how the show netted six wins at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Spoilers from the first two seasons of The Bear are included in this article...
The Berzatto Siblings
Every primary character in The Bear is tied to the Berzatto siblings in one form or another, and in the main cast, Carmy is joined by his sister, Abby Elliot’s Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto. Then there’s their brother, Jon Bernthal’s Michael “Mikey” Berzatto, who died by suicide four months before the events of the series premiere episode. We’ve gotten to spend some time with Mikey thanks to some flashbacks in Season 1 and the tense “Fishes” episode from Season 2, and in the present day, Carmy and Sugar are co-owners of The Bear restaurant, which finally opened in the same-named Season 2 finale.
“Cousin” Richie And His Ex-Wife Tiffany
Although not tied to the Berzattos by blood, Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Richard “Richie” Jerimovich has been tight with this family for many years thanks to having been Mikey’s best friend. He even admits in “Forks” that Donna Berzatto was more like a mother to him than his own mother, so he’s more than earned the right to be called “Cousin” throughout the show. Then there’s Tiffany, Richie’s wife played by Gillian Jacobs. The two were still married in “Fishes” and had their daughter Eva shortly thereafter, but they’re divorced in the present days, and in “Forks,” Tiffany told Richie that she was engaged to a man named Frank.
Sydney, Marcus and Tina - The Bear’s Core Kitchen Staff
They’re not members of the Berzatto family, but these characters certainly aren’t important to The Bear’s narrative. Chief among this particular trio is Ayo Edebiri’s Sydney Adabu, who joined The Beef as a sous-chef at the start of the show after her catering business failed. After The Beef fell under, she stuck around to help develop The Bear restaurant, becoming its chef de cuisine. Lionel Bryce’s Marcus and Liza Colón-Zayas’s Tina Marrero worked at The Beef back when Mikey was still alive, meaning they go way back with Carmy too. At The Beef, Marcus is in charge of deserts and Tina works as the sous-chef.
Ebraheim And Sweeps - Other Important Kitchen Staff Members
Although Edwin Lee Gibson and Corey Hendrix’s characters aren’t series regulars like the other kitchen staff, they’re nonetheless important members of The Bear, with both Ebraheim and Gary “Sweeps” Woods also having been around at The Beef when Mikey was running it. Granted, Ebraheim did disappear when he and Tina were tasked to go to culinary school in Season 2, but he eventually resurfaced and has resumed his duties. Hopefully these two will have more prominent roles in Season 3.
“Uncle” Jimmy And His Wife Carol
Jimmy “Cicero” Kalinowski was the best friend of Carmy, Sugar and Mikey’s dad when he was still alive, hence why he’s referred to them, as well as Richie, as “Uncle.” He loaned Mikey $300,000 for The Beef, and even after that unspent money was finally found, he lent an additional $500,000 to Carmy, Sugar and Sydney for The Bear, though the restaurant has to pay off the $800,000 debt within 18 months time. Jimmy is married to Maura Kidwell’s Carol, who can briefly be seen in a few episodes.
Pete - Sugar’s Husband
If The Bear has a consistent punching bag, it’s Pete, Sugar’s husband who’s played by Chris Witaske. He means well and is consistently trying to impress, but he’s nonetheless the target of many jabs, insults and teases from his wife’s family members and friends. Pete did get a chance to shine in the Season 2 finale when he noticed Donna (who we’ll talk about next) outside the restaurant and tried to get her to come in. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out, and to make matters worse, Pete accidentally revealed to his mother-in-law that he and Sugar were having a baby, something he assumed Donna already knew about, but wasn’t the case.
Donna - Carmy, Sugar And Mikey’s Mother
In “Fishes,” we met Jamie Lee Curtis’ Donna, Carmy, Sugar and Mikey’s mother who was preparing the Christmas dinner that year for her extended family (there’s a wild story behind the actress getting the role). It soon became clear that Donna was in trouble between her erratic mood shifts and alcoholism, and by the end of the episode, she crashed her car into the house. In the Season 2 finale, Donna showed up at the opening of The Bear restaurant, but only interacted with Pete, as she decided at the last minute that she didn’t deserve to witness her children’s success, plus was taken aback by the news about the baby.
Brothers Neil And Theodore Fak
Like Richie, Neil Fak, played by Matty Matheson (a real-life chef), is a childhood friend of Mikey Berzatto, but he and Richie were constantly at odds with one another, and that hasn’t changed in adulthood. As a mechanic, Neil was often around The Beef to fix things up, and he played an integral role in the construction of The Bear. We spent some time with Neil’s brother Theodore, played by Ricky Staffieri, in the episodes “Fishes,” “Omelette” and “The Bear.”
Michelle - The Berzatto Siblings’ Cousin
Sarah Paulson guest-starred in “Fishes” as Michelle Berzatto, cousin to the Berzatto siblings. In addition to being one of the many witnesses to that night’s craziness, she approached Carmy about staying with her in New York in order to get some distance from his nuclear family. While we know Carmy did move to The Big Apple and became a sous chef at a three-star Michelin restaurant, it’s unclear if he took Michelle up on her offer.
Stevie - Michelle’s Boyfriend
Michelle brought her boyfriend Stevie along for the family dinner in “Fishes,” and you could tell John Mulaney’s character was easily entertained by everyone around him up until the actual meal started. This included Neil and Theodore hitting him up for money with their investment in baseball cards. It’s unclear if Stevie and Michelle are still together during the show’s present day events.
“Uncle” Lee
Although Bob Odenkirk’s “Uncle” Lee Lane is Jimmy’s business partner and Donna’s on-and-off again boyfriend, he’s a far cry from being the most beloved member of the family. He and Mikey got into an ugly spat in “Fishes,” which was prompted by Lee giving him grief about sharing the same story over and over again. This escalated later when Mikey started throwing forks at Lee during the meal, prompting Odenkirk’s character to start insulting Mikey’s life choices, addiction problem and more. In the present day, Carmy doesn’t think highly enough of Lee to consider him an “uncle.”
Claire, A.K.A. Claire-Bear
Molly Gordon’s Claire, a.k.a. Claire-Bear, was pretty close with the Berzattos, Faks and Richie when she was growing up, enough to the point that she referred to Richie as “cousin” during Season 2. However, she started to drift apart from them as they all got older, and she eventually became a resident in emergency medicine. She and Carmy were particularly close in their youth, and while Mikey and Richie tried to set them back up together in “Fishes,” they didn’t reconnect until Season 2. Unfortunately, the two appear to now be broken up due to what happened in the Season 2 finale, though that’s not to say we’ll never see Claire again.
As The Bear continues, we’ll surely meet more members of this family, and maybe there will be opportunities from for guest stars to return too. Keep visiting CinemaBlend for news about The Bear Season 3 and the other best Hulu TV shows.
