‘The Bear’ Star Lionel Boyce Uses Marcus’ ‘Path of Creativity’ to Guide Him
When the first season of FX’s “The Bear” ended, Lionel Boyce had no idea where it might go in Season 2.
The actor, who plays the softspoken pastry chef Marcus, definitely didn’t know that he’d be the one starting off the season in a premiere episode that focuses on Marcus’ home life with his mother. And he certainly never guessed that he’d be going to Copenhagen for an episode centered entirely on Marcus as he perfects his skills in refined deserts.
“When anyone’s making anything, you’re just hedging, bracing for the impact and being like, ‘Oh, I’m on screen for the majority, like, 75% of these 30 minutes. I don’t know how people are going to receive that.’ But after, I was happy about it,” Boyce told TheWrap.
“I mean, I think I was just happy that people love the show, people loved the second season more than first season. And for that [episode] to be one of the things that people were talking about, it was a little surreal because you find ways to discredit yourself. My own whole thing is like, ‘Well, I didn’t ruin it this time.’”
The Season 2 episode in which Marcus goes to Copenhagen to learn from a master pastry chef (played by surprise guest star Will Poulter) was a fan-favorite. Audiences loved seeing Marcus show that he’s both serious and passionate about his work. Exploring that passion is key to Boyce’s approach to the character and has also become a major piece of Boyce’s real life.
“This path of creativity for him is what I think about a lot, where he’s exploring, and just getting better and better and better at what he’s doing,” Boyce said. “And it’s just cool to see that because I think … it just speaks to anyone doing anything that you like or love.”
He continued, “Finding [your] passion and getting over that hump when you can actually get better and better — and then [the] autonomy within that, when the things that you make look like the things that you want to make, when you close that gap — to me, that’s cool.”
And yes, Boyce has been enjoying honing his own skills with a pastry knife. “It’s fun,” he said. “It’s a good gig where you get some real skills out of it as well.”
A version of this story first ran in the Comedy Series issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine. Read more from the issue here.
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