Matty Matheson Reveals Major ‘The Bear’ Filming Challenge ‘People Probably Don’t Think About’
A lot of hard work goes into creating The Bear — and Matty Matheson is pulling back the curtain on the unexpected challenges.
"Last season, I think doing the ‘Seven Fishes’ [episode] was a crazy thing," Matheson, 42, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting his Crocs at Work Collection. "Making all that [onscreen] food and executing that was really fun and really memorable. Making that house so chaotic was a really special moment."
Matheson, who plays Neil Fake on the hit FX on Hulu series, is also a culinary consultant on the show. As a result, Matheson is involved in the in-depth conversations about food continuity that comes with working on The Bear.
"[We spoke about], 'Do we use real shellfish? Is it going to look stupid? Can we get away with using fake food?’ A lot of TV shows use fake food. We do everything real. So it's always just such a learning experience,” he continued. "Sometimes you are doing 10, 15 [or] 20 takes sometimes. Then [you are] just resetting everything. You got to get everything to look messy, but then you got to [have] everything [look] normal because it gets messier in the scene. There's so much hard work [when] you are planning that out."
The actor pointed out that fans might not realize how important those details are for the show when watching the final product. (The Bear, which debuted in June 2022, explores the food industry through the lens of Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy, a talented chef, and his coworkers.)
"There's a lot of things like that that people probably don't think about. But just as the room changes, the food is changing," Matheson explained. "We need to make sure that it's always at that same moment. Just continuity is the hardest thing, to be honest. ... We really work hard on trying to keep continuity and stuff like that in a good place."
Matheson specifically credited culinary producer Courtney Storer for her commitment to continuity, adding, "Courtney is [creator] Christopher Storer's sister. Courtney is an old friend of mine and is the reason why I'm even attached to the show. So I work closely with Courtney. She is a chef. She's working on the dishes, and she's incredible."
In addition to being an actor and culinary consultant, Matheson is also now juggling the role of an executive producer.
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"I'm just working with all the different departments. It's just working on trying to make the best show that we can. It's one of those things: when I'm acting, I'm acting. When I'm not, I'm not. I'm on set every day. I'm there every day, no matter what," he noted. "Some days I'm there working with people. Some days I get to act all day too. It just all depends, but it's fun no matter what. It's an amazing experience. It really is. It's really nice."
While tackling all the various tasks on and off set, Matheson has prioritized his safety and style with his favorite Crocs footwear. Matheson has partnered with the brand to be the new face of their Crocs at Work Collection, which includes a range of silhouettes such as the Bistro Clog and On the Clock sneakers.
"I love wearing Crocs and working in them. [While] working on [my] feet all day, I think that's where it kind of started," he shared with Us. "I just feel like it was a really easy fit. I'm a big fan, and they are big fans. So it was a really nice thing to work on together."
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Matheson noted he preferred the Crocs clog options, adding, "I wear them every day here. I'm in Chicago right now and when I get home, I will wear them. Because on set, I'm wearing different footwear for the costume I'm wearing on the show. But whenever I'm not [on set], I'm always just wearing my clogs."
He concluded: "You can't really lose no matter what Crocs you are wearing. I feel there's a Croc for somebody. Now there's the Crocs at Work, which is just the easiest thing [to wear]. It's kind of a Croc for everybody."
