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The Bear Season 3: All the Major Guest Stars

From real-life celebrity chefs to the resurgent Josh Hartnett, here’s who pops into Carmy and Sydney’s kitchen in the FX series’ new episodes.
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Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Bear season three.

The table has been set for The Bear season three. All 10 episodes of the new season are now streaming on Hulu. As Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy and Ayo Edebiri’s Sydney very platonically open the doors to Chicago’s newest fine-dining experience, they work alongside a merry band of “Bearitos” (in the words of Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Richie), in their pursuit of a Michelin star. The list of regulars includes newly minted sous-chef, Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas), soulful pastry chef Marcus (Lionel Boyce), and front-of-house maestro, Sugar (Abby Elliott). They also have support from the rebel-rousing Faks, Neil (Matty Matheson) and Ted (Ricky Staffieri).

But each season of the Emmy-winning FX series has also welcomed major guest stars to the kitchen, from Molly Ringwald in season one to Sarah Paulson and Bob Odenkirk in season two. Many familiar faces are back for the third season, as are two major newbies whose arrivals had actually already been teased. When Josh Hartnett was asked which shows he was “obsessed” with at February’s SAG Awards, he expressed his love for The Bear. A month later, after John Cena was spotted in a few Chi-town restaurants, Eater Chicago speculated that he was filming a cameo for the series. Ahead, a complete guide to their characters, as well as the season’s other major guest stars.

Josh Hartnett as Frank

The season’s first major new guest star arrives in the fourth episode. Amid high-profile roles in last year’s Oppenheimer and this summer’s M. Night Shyamalan thriller, Trap, Josh Hartnett joins The Bear as Frank, new fiancé of Richie’s ex-wife, Tiff (Gillian Jacobs). When Richie drops his daughter, Evie, off at her mom’s home, he and Frank engage in an uncomfortable conversation about their now blended dynamic. As Taylor Swift’s “Long Live” floats from the house, Frank asks when he and Tiff can visit The Bear. Not “until it’s perfect,” Richie replies.

John Cena as Sammy Fak

The following episode introduces another surprising addition to the cast: none other than wrestler turned comedic performer John Cena. He is introduced as Sammy “fucking Fak,” brother of Neil and Ted. Sammy is enlisted to complete odd construction jobs around The Bear, where he spars with his family about the idea of “haunting” loved ones, a concept that is returned to throughout the season.

Jamie Lee Curtis as Donna Berzatto

Chuck Hodes/FX.

In between winning an Oscar and starting production on Freaky Friday 2, Curtis reprised her role as the overbearing, alcoholic Berzatto matriarch. She can be seen via flashbacks in the season’s first episode, as well as in family photos Carmy keeps tucked inside his office. But in the eighth installment of season three, “Ice Chips,” her character takes center stage. When her daughter suddenly goes into labor and can’t reach any of her support system, it is Donna who comes to her bedside, despite their incredibly fractured relationship.

Olivia Colman as Andrea Terry

News that Andrea Terry is closing her restaurant, Ever—an invaluable training ground for both Carmy and Richie—proves so seismic that it inspires headlines like, “Is This the Death of Fine Dining As We Know It?” But Colman’s head chef is enlivened by her culinary culmination. In the third-season finale, which serves as a send-off to her business, she shoots booze from a red solo cup, garnishes frozen waffles from Sydney’s barren fridge, and declares, “Service, bitches!” to a room of her admirers.

Jon Bernthal as Michael Berzatto

Chuck Hodes/FX.

The loss of Carmy’s older brother, Mikey, former owner of the Original Beef of Chicagoland, looms large over the entire series. As such, Bernthal returns as the character for the third season’s Tina-centric, Ayo Edebiri–directed (!) sixth episode. Fans get to see the first time Tina walks into the Italian beef joint, sobbing into a free sandwich Richie offers on her lowest day. After witnessing Tina’s breakdown, Mikey commiserates with her over life’s unending breaks, and they bond over a shared desire to find purpose. The season-best scene ends with Mikey offering Tina a job as a line cook in his family’s restaurant.

John Mulaney as Stevie

Chuck Hodes/FX.

The stand-up comedian makes a blink-and-you-missed-it appearance in the season opener as cousin-in-law to Carmy. Viewers learn via a flashback that Carmy slept on Stevie’s couch while working in New York. Mulaney is mostly there to tuck his relative in and remind him to take a shower after long shifts at the restaurant.

Will Poulter as Luca

Chuck Hodes/FX.

Ask and ye shall receive. This season saw the return of pastry chef Luca, who trained Marcus in Copenhagen during the last batch of episodes. In the season finale, it is Sydney with whom Luca bonds over “trauma dishes” and precarious family dynamics.

Daniel Boulud and René Redzepi as themselves

Several preeminent culinary minds pop up in The Bear season three—more on them below—but the first are French icon Boulud and Noma mastermind Redzepi, who are shown mentoring Carmy during the season premiere. Evidently, Boulud employed Carmy during his time in New York at one of his Michelin-starred restaurants, while Carmy also journeyed to Copenhagen to stage with Redzepi.

Gillian Jacobs as Tiff

Chuck Hodes/FX.

Richie finally inches closer to accepting his separation from Jacobs’s Tiff, even taking off his wedding ring in the fourth episode. Later in the season, he receives an invitation to his ex-wife’s second wedding, and the former spouses talk about the event as they watch their daughter play in the park.

Sarah Ramos as Jess

Chuck Hodes/FX.

Ramos reprises her role as Jessica, a member of Terry’s house staff who has remained in contact with Richie after his apprenticeship last season. During the season finale, she encourages Richie to surround himself with people who are better than him—both inside the kitchen and out.

Joel McHale as David Fields

As Carmy concludes in the season three finale, his former boss is a “fuckface bastard who made me very, probably mentally ill.” He adds, “I don’t think he sleeps, I don’t think he eats, I don’t think he loves.” But although Carmy views David Fields as the human embodiment of all his inner demons—someone who has a very odd perception of nachos, by the way—there may have been a method to his madness. During a flashback in episode one, Carmy recalls David telling him to “subtract” in the kitchen, because “that’s how you do better.” Whether he wants to admit it or not, it’s that advice Carmy is trying, and often failing, to heed all season.

Thomas Keller as himself

A veritable who’s who of celebrity chefs attend the “funeral” for Andrea Terry’s restaurant in the season three finale, including Malcolm Livingston II, whom series creator, Christopher Storer, has identified as the inspiration for the character of Marcus, and Chicago icon Grant Achatz. Some have full-blown speaking parts, while others are shown only in photographs. There’s even a flash of a photo of Bradley Cooper as a fictional restauranter in the 2015 film Burnt. But the most significant cameo is that of Thomas Keller, for whom Carmy works at his Napa restaurant, The French Laundry. The episode begins with an extended flashback of Chef Keller teaching Carmy how to make a roast chicken for the staff dinner while espousing life advice on his first day of work.