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There’s an element of the free-wheeling, eccentric soul of his character in The Bear in Matty Matheson. The chef-turned-actor plays handyman Neil Geoff Fak, long-time family friend of Mikey, Carmy and all the Berzattos.
Ironically, given he trained as a chef and runs restaurants, Matheson plays a mister fix-it in the show, rather than working the pans.
Canadian chef and executive producer of The Bear, Matty Matheson.
There are similarities between him and his onscreen character though, he says. “Fak is more vulnerable than me. I’m a big people pleaser, you know, I’m a very jovial person. I want to make sure everyone’s having a nice time, I want to make sure everyone’s happy, but I think Fak is a very soft version of who I am ... I love my friends, obviously, but I think Fak, he cares so deeply,” Matheson says. “I am Fak and Fak is me, but there’s definitely some acting, you know, like we try to make Fak a very specific type of person that works within the means of what’s happening on that show.”
The hugely popular series is set in what was an Italian beef sandwich shop in Chicago (loosely based on the actual venue, Mr Beef). After the suicide of its owner Mikey, it’s overhauled by his younger brother, Carmy, into a fine diner known as The Bear.
A resounding success worldwide, The Bear won a record-setting 11 Emmy Awards from 23 nominations, the most in a single year for a series in the comedy categories.
Initially employed to work with the culinary producer on the show, Courtney Storer — sister of the show’s creator Christopher Storer — Matheson was soon invited to become one of the cast; he is also the show’s executive producer.
This week, the Toronto-based restaurateur releases his third cookbook, Soups, Salads, Sandwiches. Matheson considers these three dishes as the holy trinity of food and describes the book as a choose-your-own adventure: “It’s a walk through the woods. It’s a riverboat ride, but there’s no boat and it’s just an inner tube. We’re going to get wet and wild. We don’t need a boat. We thrive in the nothingness. Now, control your destiny ... embrace the pure joy of freewheeling cooking.
“Sometimes cooking is scary or makes you feel uncomfortable. That’s OK. Even I’m uncomfortable when I’m cooking, But the power of cooking always outweighs the anxieties. As long as the love is just a little greater than the fear, we’re eating good tonight.”