‘The Bear’ Season 3: Every big celebrity cameo revealed
Yo, cousins.
“The Bear” is back for Season 3 (now streaming on Hulu), and similar to Season 2, it’s got a slew of big-name guest stars.
The awards darling — which dominated the Emmys and Golden Globes — is about Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), a chef from the fine-dining world, who returns to Chicago to helm his brother Mikey’s (Jon Bernthal) sandwich shop after Mikey dies by suicide.
At first, the crew of the restaurant was skeptical about Carmy and his vision, but in Season 2, he and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) wrangled them into giving the place a fine-dining makeover.
By Season 3, they continue their work with pride.
Here are all the notable guest stars in Season 3.
Jamie Lee Curtis
The Oscar-winning actress also appeared in Season 2 as Carmy’s mom, Donna Berzatto. She returns in the eighth episode of Season 3, this time less scattered and more able to be supportive to her daughter, Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto (Abby Elliott) as Sugar gives birth.
Curtis celebrated her appearance with an Instagram post on Thursday, writing, “All us humans share the same thing. Wherever we live in the universe, whatever our circumstances….we were all born. Birth is painful and dangerous and exquisite. I couldn’t ask to be a part of a more beautifully written, directed and acted episode of television than ICE CHIPS…. the show is a menu of creativity, humor and LIFE!”
Josh Hartnett
The former Hollywood heartthrob and more recent co-star of “Oppenheimer” (and the underrated show “Penny Dreadful”) is one of the new big names to join “The Bear.” In Season 3’s fourth episode, Hartnett plays Ritchie’s ex-wife Tiffany’s (Gillian Jacobs) affable fiancé, Frank, who wants to have a man-to-man “chat” with Ritchie, much to “Cousin’s” dismay.
John Cena
The wrestler and actor is another big-name new guest star. He joins the cast as Sammy, a family friend of the Berzattos who buffs the restaurants floors — while getting into some amusing verbal tiffs with the staff. He’s in the fifth episode.
Jon Bernthal
“The Punisher” star returns to reprise his role as Carmy’s charismatic but troubled brother Mikey Berzatto, whose presence looms large over “The Bear.” Although he’s deceased in the present day, he appears in the show in flashbacks — this time in the first and sixth episodes.
“I’m really close with Ebon [Moss-Bachrach],” Bernthal told Variety in June 2023. “My first gig ever was understudying him in an off-Broadway play. When he reached out, he told me how important the show was to him. It turned out to be this wonderful thing, and then I got to know [creator] Chris [Storer], and I fell in love with the spirit of the show.”
Bernthal added, “I just said, look, whatever it is, I’ll always make myself available because I believe in them so much and I believe in the show so much.”
John Mulaney
The comedian first appeared in the Season 2 episode “Fishes” as Stevie, the somewhat awkward partner of Michelle Berzatto (Sarah Paulson), Carmy’s cousin. Paulson, however, does not return. He’s in the Season 3 premiere.
“Everyone at ‘The Bear’ was already aware of the show’s success by the time of the Season 2 episode I did. I’ve never seen a group of people deal better with success and be humble and welcoming. And that’s from [creator] Chris Storer and on down to Jeremy [Allen White] and everybody,” Mulaney told Variety earlier this month.
At the time, he didn’t admit to appearing in Season 3, but he called his Season 2 appearance, “some of the most fun I’ve ever had in my career.”
Joel McHale
The “Animal Control” star and “House of Villains” host had brief appearances in previous seasons as Carmy’s tyrannical former boss. He returns for some flashbacks in the Season 3 premiere and finale.
Speaking to Showbiz Cheat Sheet in 2022, McHale recalled, “[Director] Chris Storer, who is the longtime boyfriend of Gillian Jacobs, who played Britta on ‘Community,’ I’ve been friends with him since 2011, and he asked me to just come in.”
McHale told The Post in March, “It’s funny… I have played a lot of characters that are kind of dicks.”
Gillian Jacobs
The “Community” alum, who previously appeared in the show as Ritchie’s (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) ex-wife Tiffany Jerimovich, returns for the Season 3 premiere and ninth episode.
In a 2023 interview with CinemaBlend, Jacobs talked about her Season 2 appearance in the star-studded episode “Fishes.”
“They call cut and you go, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe I’m in this episode,'” she noted, calling the experience “amazing.”
David Zayas
The former “Dexter” co-star is married in real life to Liza Colón-Zayas, who plays Tina Marrero. In the Season 3 premiere and 6th episode, he plays Tina’s husband.
Thomas Keller
The famous chef plays himself on the show, appearing in the Season 3 finale to teach Carmy.
Will Poulter
Poulter threw the internet into a tizzy when he appeared in Season 2 as Luca, a pastry chef who taught Marcus (Lionel Boyce) during Marcus’s trip to Copenhagen, Denmark. He reprises the role in the Season 3 premiere and finale.
“I called them. I literally begged to be in the show,” Poulter told Variety in June 2023.
He added, “I asked if I could meet with Chris Storer… He was kind enough to gift me with the offer to play Luca and it really changed my life, to be honest. It kind of helped me realize a dream of playing a chef on TV. I have such an immense amount of respect for chefs and the women and men of that industry. I feel like the whole society stands on the shoulders of people in the food and beverage industry, and we don’t even necessarily really know it or think about it. They sustain us and maintain us daily and they don’t get enough thanks for what they do.”
Olivia Colman
The Oscar-winning British actress appeared in Season 2 as Chef Terry to whip Ritchie into shape. “The Crown” star reprises her role in the Season 3 premiere and finale.
When she first appeared in Season 2, the showrunner and producers reportedly had a “dream list” of potential guest stars that included Colman, but her US agent wasn’t sure she’d want to do it. However, both Colman and her UK agent turned out to be fans of the show, casting director Jeanie Bacharach told Vulture.
“The Bear” Season 3 is currently streaming on Hulu, and it’s already been renewed for a Season 4.
