Josh Hartnett has explained how he got cast in a guest role during season three of smash hit show The Bear.
Fans were stunned to see the Hollywood legend play a character named Frank who turns out to be the fiancé of Gillian Jacobs’s character Tiffany ‘Tiff’ Jerimovich in the new batch of episodes.
The Faculty star was added to the cast thanks to his friendship with show creator Chris Storer.
Explaining his involvement on the show, Josh told The Hollywood Reporter, “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.
“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.”
The phone call prompted Chris to later offer Josh the role on the FX series – which he agreed to without question.
Josh recalled, “I said yes right away, before I even read the script, because I wanted to work with him.”
He also shared how he managed to keep his involvement in the show a secret, saying, “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?”
The Bear stars Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Ayo Edebiri in leading roles and has attracted major guest stars including Jamie Lee Curtis, John Mulaney and John Cena.
