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How Ayo Edebiri Got Killer Performances Out Of Liza Colón-Zayas & Jon Bernthal In ‘The Bear’ Episodic Directing Debut “Napkins” – Crew Call Podcast

From the moment Ayo Edebiri showed up on the set of The Bear three years ago, creator Christopher Storer always recognized her potential to direct. “He’d say ‘When you’re not working on set, come to set,'” Edebiri tells us about Storer’s encouragement of her directing career. “‘When you’re on another film, hit me up, call […]

That is until, she walks into The Bear and meets Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Richie, who gives her a coffee and an Italian Beef sandwich on the house, and Jon Bernthal’s Mikey Berzatto who lends a shoulder when he notices her crying. What shines in Edebiri’s first directing gig are the sublime performance she gets out of Bernthal and Colón-Zayas who have an 11-minute dialogue scene, the characters dropping their guards as they talk about life, jealousy, and family. While the overall episode entailed a six-day shoot, Edebiri landed a rehearsal day with the two performers in order to nail down what is arguably the most authentic, and moving moment of season 3.

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