There’s an element of the free-wheeling, eccentric soul of his character in The Bear in Matty Matheson. The chef-turned-actor plays handyman Neil Geoff Fak, long-time family friend of Mikey, Carmy and all the Berzattos. Ironically, given he trained as a chef and runs restaurants, Matheson plays a mister fix-it in the show, rather than working the pans.
Canadian chef and executive producer of The Bear, Matty Matheson. There are similarities between him and his onscreen character though, he says. “Fak is more vulnerable than me.
I’m a big people pleaser, you know, I’m a very jovial person. I want to make sure everyone’s having a nice time, I want to make sure everyone’s happy, but I think Fak is a very soft version of who I am ..
. I love my friends, obviously, but I think Fak, he cares so deeply,” Matheson says. “I am Fak and Fak is me, but there’s definitely some acting, you know, like we try to make Fak a very specific type of person that works within the means of what’s happening on that show.
” The hugely popular series is set in what was an Italian beef sandwich shop in Chicago (loosely based on the actual venue, Mr Beef). After the suicide of its owner Mikey, it’s overhauled by his younger brother, Carmy, into a fine diner known as The Bear. A resounding success worldwide, The Bear won a record-setting 11 Emmy Awards from 23 nominations, the most in a single year for a series in the comedy categories.
Initially employed to work with the culinary pro.