Josh Hartnett reveals how he became a surprise guest star on ‘The Bear’

Cousin got an unexpected surprise.

Josh Hartnett, 45, is the latest big-name guest star to appear on “The Bear.” In Season 3 (now streaming on Hulu), he plays Frank, the fiance of Richie’s (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) ex.

The awards darling — which dominated the Emmys and Golden Globes — follows 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. Season 2 featured big-name celeb guest stars like Jamie Lee Curtis and John Mulaney. Season 3 added Hartnett and John Cena.

Hartnett’s surprise appearance happened because he met series creator Chris Storer years ago.

“I remember him mentioning that he was trying to make this other film about chefs, because his sister [‘The Bear’ producer Courtney Storer] was a chef, and then years went by and I started hearing all this hype about The Bear,” Hartnett told the Hollywood Reporter. 

“It sounded really familiar, so I checked it out and saw Chris’ name and was amazed. I called him immediately to say congratulations and tell him the show was incredible.”

After the show took off, Storer called Hartnett’s agent to offer him a role, the “Virgin Suicides” star told the outlet.

“I said yes right away, before I even read the script, because I wanted to work with him,” said Hartnett.

“Our business can be cruel at times, and sometimes you get really lucky and meet people you really admire. Chris and I always got along, so I was just delighted that he asked. And I have to say that they have so much fun making that show. It shouldn’t be called work. Actors just come to set and hang out even on their days off. It feels like a group of friends making a show at university or something.”

The “Oppenheimer” actor said that it was easy for him to keep his guest appearance quiet, because, “I felt like the city of Chicago was really protective of The Bear … I told my parents about it, because they love the show, and I told a couple of friends who love the show. But I don’t have social media or anything so it feels like, who am I really going to tell?”

In the show, Frank and Richie have an uncomfortable conversation when Richie drops his daughter off at Frank’s house, and Frank apologizes to him for failing to give a head’s up that he was proposing to Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs).

Looming over Richie on the steps, Frank earnestly says, “I should have given you a head’s up before asking Tiff to marry me. I should have been a gentleman.”

Frank also tells Richie that he wants their relationship to be “good” and not “weird,” since they’ll probably see each other often.

“There were a few other things I did to maximize how intimidating he would be to Richie. Like the fingernail polish: My girls are constantly painting my fingernails and I thought, that’s something Frank would be proud of as a stepdad. And Richie would see it and be like ‘Oh, this makes me feel terrible,’” said Hartnett, referring to the daughters he shares with his wife, “Camelot” star Tamsin Egerton, 35.

Hartnett and Egerton, who live in the UK and have been linked since 2012, share 4 kids. They haven’t publicly announced their kids’ names or ages.

Hartnett told the Hollywood Reporter how their relationship began.

“My wife and I took a trip when we first got together, to Lake Garda in Italy … I was living in New York and she was in London. We were like, we really like each other so let’s see if we should date,” he shared.

“We fell in love on this trip. We were at this place called Villa Feltrinelli. I was trying to impress her and it was very fancy, they had a Michelin star and it was very small, only six tables or something. They served a carbonara that to this day I can’t explain. There was some sort of brown sugar-type magic in there that amplified the cheese. It was a magical moment … It was like okay, one day we’re going to get married and have four kids.”

While walking the red carpet at the 2024 SAG Awards, Hartnett was asked if he has seen the “Josh Hartnett Renaissance” trend on social media. He told the outlet Gold Derby, “I have four kids, I live in the countryside. I’m busy either working or taking care of them.”

Although he keeps quiet about his private life, Hartnett told the Hollywood Reporter, “I went to the Eras Tour with my daughters recently and it was wild. I’ve never experienced anything like it. 90,000 people at Wembley Stadium losing their minds, including my two daughters. And people were so respectful, my daughters were given so many bracelets and everything was really sweet. It was a good event for my daughter’s first concert.”

However, although he praised Swift’s concert, Hartnett made it clear that he’s not a Swiftie. When the outlet asked him if Swift played “Live Long” – the song that plays during his scene on “The Bear” – during her concert, he replied, “Oh man, that’s more than I know.”