When Jon Bernthal filmed his first episode of TheBear, during the shows first season, he did it on his lunch break. It was early 2022, and he was the lead of Showtimes American Gigolo, a job that required him to be in Los Angeles and on set every day. But he got a call from his old friend Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Bernthals first professional gig was understudying for Moss-Bachrach in an off-Broadway play) about an enthralling opportunity. Ebon was like, Im doing this thing and its really special, and theres a role thats really important we want you to do, he says. Hes the kind of guy who isnt talking about, Oh its going to be a massive hit or commercially successful. He told me its an incredible group of people doing this for the right reasons. Bernthal broke the news about his time constraints, and a few minutes later Moss-Bachrach called back to tell him that Christopher Storers The Bear was going to move the entire production to Los Angeles for the day and shoot the scene in one of the producers kitchens. I was like, What is this show? Is this a student film? This is going to be on TV? he says with a laugh. But then they showed up and it was the happiest group of people Ive ever seen. That brief guest spot, with Bernthal playing the late Mikey Carmys brother and the previous chef of The Beef became an integral part of the high-stakes Hulu show and a beloved experience for Bernthal. Now, on the heels of an Emmy nomination for his appearance in the second seasons flashback episode Fishes he also received a nomination for guest acting in season ones Braciole episode he tellsTHR why.

What did you know about Mikey before that first day of filming?

I understood that what Chris Storer needed from that version of Mikey was this larger-than-life, charismatic guy. In the way that we sometimes glorify and romanticize folks that weve lost, we want to see this version of him his winning smile and ability to take over a room with his energy. When season two came around and I actually got to go to Chicago and be part of the set, I saw that we needed the other side of Mikey. We needed to see the damage and the ugliness, to see him spiraling. It was such a cool exercise for me as an actor to be able to plant these buoys in the water about who he is and why he has this resonance over his family, even though he could be really uglyat times.

Which elements of Fishes felt the most important to nail?

I was really excited to build the conflict with Bob Odenkirk to find these moments that werent written, that were about why he drives me crazy, why these two characters go at each other. Theres nothing like family to really go for the jugular, to know how to say that one truthful and cutting thing. Both of our characters were happy to go there.

Were you throwing real forks at Bob?

They started out as soft forks, but I didnt like the way they flew through the air. When they hit Bob, theyve got to bounce off of him in a way that looks real and has the right weight. We finally settled on something in between it was a heavy plastic.

Do you remember what you felt when you found out how stacked the guest cast was going to be in the episode?

I figured everybody would want to do this. Its the sort of thing people would walk through walls to be in. So I wasnt surprised as the names started coming in. But then you get really intimidated, like, Gosh, I hope I can carry my weight with these people. Its funny, Ebon sort of said to me at the end of the week taping this, I kind of want you guys to all go home. (Laughs.) Its like having your in-laws over. Were all stuffed into this house, and eventually the main cast just wanted to get back to their show. And thats exactly how they should be feeling, so I appreciated it.

This story first appeared in an August stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.