You might only know him as the awkward not-so-handy handyman-turned-waiter Neil Fak on The Bear, but Matty Matheson is an acclaimed chef, business owner, and published author of two cookbooks. He’s also an award-winning actor now who wants to branch out from the world of fine dining, even if his plans clash with on-screen boss Jeremy Allen White’s opinions on moviemaking.
On the red carpet of the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, Matheson told a reporter for Variety that he wants to continue acting after The Bear, and his sights are set on a couple of major franchises, including one his cast mate has essentially kicked to the curb.
Matty Matheson’s acting bucket list includes a major upcoming Marvel project
“My dream is to act in a lot of movies, just act in everything,” the rookie actor told the outlet, before giving Marvel and Indiana Jones as two examples. When the reporter pressed him on which actor he’d like to play in the Marvel Universe, Matheson seemed a little lost before throwing his hat in the ring for the character of Cyclops in the upcoming, currently uncast, X-Men movies.
Sounding strikingly similar to his The Bear on-screen persona, Matheson also said he has “no idea” why he wants to do a Marvel movie but that acting with “a lot of lasers and stuff” would “be pretty cool.”
Jeremy Allen White has no regrets over fumbled Marvel audition
Jeremy Allen White, who plays chef and restauranteur Carmy Berzatto in The Bear, has a completely different take on the allure, or lack thereof, of superhero films. The actor opened up to GQ, back in Nov. 2023, about a failed audition for a “kind of Marvel-y movie,” confessing he approached it with “an attitude” by asking executives “Tell me about why should I do your movie?.” White said the response was a resounding “F-ck You,” but he wasn’t much bothered.
The Emmy-winning performer had previously questioned the place that superhero movies have gained as the be-all and end-all of the acting career. “I am confused at how the pinnacle of an actor’s career has ended up in that place,” he said, before acknowledging the attempt on behalf of the studios to get great filmmakers and actors attached to such productions. “I played it the way I wanted to play it. [I’m more interested in the] $25 million drama that I think most actors want to make,” White concluded.
The cast of The Bear has a long history with the MCU
Okay, so Jeremy Allen White has probably burned that bridge, but Matheson and him are far from being the only actors from The Bear to float around Marvel reports.
Break-out star Ayo Edebiri, who has just won a stack of awards for her turn in the culinary comedy-drama series, is actually a part of the cast of the upcoming MCU project Thunderbolts, reportedly playing Valentina Allegra de Fontaine’s (Julie Louis-Dreyfus) assistant. Justifying her decision to join the increasingly contentious franchise in an interview with Backstage, the young actress said she was attracted by the unknown.
“I love being a sponge. I just want to learn as much as possible. I’m excited [for Thunderbolts] because I don’t know – and to me, that’s cool. I feel like those are always the situations that I’ve benefited from the most. If I don’t know what I’m going to learn, that’s the best possible scenario for me.”
Fellow Emmy winner and The Bear sensation, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, is also heavily rumored to be joining Fantastic Four as The Thing. It sounds like Jeremy Allen White is in the minority on that set.
