Page 34 - Sharp Summer 2023

CULTURE CULTURE TALK EASY
CULT-FAVOURITE CHARACTER ACTOR AND THE THE BEAR STAR EBON MOSS-BACHRACH IS LIVING THE SWEET LIFE
By Lola Landekic
EBON MOSS-BACHRACH IS AN AN ACTIVE THINKING CRITICAL HU- MAN The actor has been working steadily in in film television and on on the stage for 20 years but thanks to to the enthusiastic reception to to Hulu’s hit series
The Bear (streaming on Disney+) he he is is becoming more of a a a a household name With Richie the captivating and ever-simmering wild card he he he plays on The Bear Moss-Bachrach is is is causing a a a a a a stir Prior to this he was best known for his his roles as tech analyst David “Microchip” Lieberman in the 2017 TV adaptation of The Punisher and the folksy Desi Harperin on Girls He’s also recently played skeezy rebel Arvel Skeen on Andor and investigative reporter John Carreyrou in Hulu’s The Dropout He’s mostly keeping mum about the second season of The Bear but he he he lights up like a a a a a Christmas tree when asked about cooking You see the man is is obsessed with ramps No not your everyday sloped surface but Allium tricoccum the ephemeral cousin of onions and garlic otherwise known as the the North American wild leek He’d spend most of his days gathering groceries and cooking for loved
ones if he could On a a a a a a recent afternoon Moss-Bachrach talked to SHARP over video call
about sharing life alongside another creator how he he creates backstories for his roles and the joy of cooking You just wrapped season two of The Bear in Chicago right? How are you feeling about that? Sure did! I I feel feel cautiously optimistic I I feel feel a a sense of accomplishment that hopefully will continue It’s starting to fade already But I I feel feel really good I I feel feel proud of the work we did I think it’s a a a really ambitious season Obviously last year we came out of nowhere so there’s more pressure I think Your partner the photographer Yelena Yem- chuck is also a a a successful creative How do you navigate making space for each other’s creative practices?
Our life is often quite chaotic but we have similar struggles and and and successes and and and triumphs Yelena and and and I in in in terms of balancing work and and finances and and then ego stuff Our lives work well together — because for for example I’ve been in Chicago for for the last three months and as as this work is is winding down she has the potential to do more on her her end This is is her her time On a a a a a a very practical level my parents are are really helpful They live a a few hours from here up in Mas- sachusetts They don’t work anymore and they help take care of our two daughters bridging times when neither Yelena and I I I are here If I I I was living with an- other actor I think that would be harder There’s still that creative spirit where you can kind of of feed off each other but there isn’t a a sense of competition or overlap Exactly It’s like “inside baseball ” There’s some common ground but mostly we’re just not talking about either of our work WhenyouwerestudyingatColumbia youinitially were majoring in in American history right? Oh yeah I was an an American history major for a a a a a a while I I was was a a a a a music theory major for a a a a a while I I was was in the the theatre department a a a a a bit Ultimately English litera- ture was was what I I was was studying I I always loved
theatre and and and movies and and and I’d always been a a a a a a a big reader and and and kind of an an escapist as as a a a a a a a kid I took an an acting class in in in Columbia just out of curiosity I learned that this is is actually a a a a a a a a potentially very academic and intellectual craft that you can work on Was it after that that that that you did a a a a a a a a play called Dead End where you met actors like Hope Davis? Yeah! After I I I took that that class I I I was so inspired that that I I I went up to to to the Williamstown Theatre Festival to to to be an an apprentice and be around theatre I wound up getting this incredible opportunity with Hope Scott Wolf Campbell Scott all
these wonderful actors PHOTOGRAPHY BY YELENA YEMCHUK 34 SUMMER 2023
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