When it comes to The Bear, Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) may be the head of the kitchen, but sous chef Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) provides much of the necessary heart in her maternal role alongside the rag-tag culinary crew at the center of FX‘s streaming hit.
“It was just so much fun from the beginning, from the pilot,” Colón-Zayas tells TV Insider. “We had a great time. As stressful as it looked, we were having a blast,” she promises, noting the specific world that series creator Christopher Storer laid out at the beginning of the show, paving the way for Season 2’s even more complex storylines, many of which have resonated with such a massive audience.
As for the reason behind the resonance, Colón-Zayas says, “I think that as humans, we connect to grief and made families. And despite [the fact that] we as a species, are messy and complicated, we’re also capable of holding each other up.” As a performer with a theater background, Colón-Zayas might have experience with hitting her mark, but she credits Storer, Joanna Calo, and the whole crew with pulling the complicated kitchen scenes together.
Chuck Hodes/FX
“They’re so specific and meticulous,” Colón-Zayas says, but, “As much as they are choreographed, they still allow space for us to be, and bring our impulses into it. So it’s magical. He’s a wizard,” she concludes with a laugh. As much as there’s room for improv, Colón-Zayas reveals, “I don’t do much of it. Maybe a word here that feels more me, I trust they know what they’re doing.”
When it came to Season 2, Tina’s whole attitude had shifted from her Season 1 vibe which was resistant against Ayo Edebiri‘s Sydney when she first entered the kitchen. “It was rocky at first,” Colón-Zayas admits, but adds, “That’s part of not just protecting my job and protecting my family, but we’ve already had a major loss. I know Carmy, but it’s been a while. And I think that Tina doesn’t have the credentials. I don’t have the youth. I’m a woman of a certain age. And so I feel like I’m not just protecting myself, I’m protecting the family that we’ve created,” she explains of Tina’s territorial nature in Season 1.
After overcoming their hurdles, it’s clear Sydney sees something special in Tina when she asks her to be her sous at the new restaurant in Season 2. That reality meant more culinary training for Colón-Zayas who says, “I love the development in Season 2 and I’m so grateful that these two women of color from such different backgrounds find this camaraderie and I become a pit bull for her.”
Chuck Hodes/FX
Getting kitchen-ready in Season 2 meant Colón-Zayas spent a week training “one-on-one with Chef David Waltuck,” who also trained White and Edebiri. “I did one week with him to get the basics of slicing and dicing, and different modes of cooking… So then moving on to Chicago, I continued training with the culinary producer, Chef Courtney Storer in my apartment.” Although the actress says, “I’m nowhere near Ebon [Moss-Bachrach] or Ayo, or Jeremy.”
We see these acquired skills on display when Tina attends culinary class onscreen, particularly through the triumphant slicing of a fish. “A lot of branzinos sacrificed themselves,” she says. Despite the flawless onscreen moment, Colón-Zayas reveals, “I came to find out from other chefs, they were like, ‘Yeah, that knife is too big for what you were doing. So the fact that you did it very clearly with that gigantic knife was impressive.’ So that was a good feeling.”
While learning to cook was one challenge, Colón-Zayas also faced an “equally terrifying” challenge in performing Tina’s karaoke scene. “I don’t have a singing background. I have a theater background, no musical theater, no singing. So that was terrifying for me,” Colón-Zayas confesses. Still, she admits that the team behind the series has “unique ways” of showing “what each character needs. And for Tina, it wasn’t about how well she could sing. It’s about getting outside of her comfort zone.”
RelatedLiza Colón-Zayas on Tina’s Authentic Culinary Evolution on ‘The Bear’
Once she got back into the kitchen with Carmy, Sydney, and the gang toward the end of Season 2 again, she reassumed her role as the group’s honorary mom. “I feel like maybe that’s part of the way Tina shows her tough love and then shows her gentler side. She’s part of the tribe in a way. And so no one said you are the restaurant mom. I just feel it organically because of my age,” Colón-Zayas says with a laugh. “I have genuine love for them.”
As for how Colón-Zayas hopes people feel after watching The Bear, “I hope that they can feel seen. I think as human beings, we carry so much shame and secrets and pressure, and I hope that we can all continue to find ways of shining a light on this shame in order to continue to break toxic habits that we all have that are destructive and that at any age you are needed. You’re not dispensable.”
The Bear, Season 3 Premiere, Thursday, June 27, Hulu
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