The Bear Season 3 is a star-studded affair with a number of surprise cameos, but many fans may have missed a surprise Bradley Cooper appearance.
Season 3 of The Bear ends on a bittersweet note, as Carmey, Richie, and Sydney attend the funeral service for Ever, the upscale dining establishment run by Chef Andrea Terry.
It’s a star-studded affair that presents several characters the chance for closure (though, in true The Bear fashion, few achieve it).
The moment is peppered with a number of real-world chef cameos, first introduced with a flash montage of newspaper clippings and photos of chefs. But blink and you’ll miss the moment’s biggest cameo from a surprise cast member: Bradley Cooper.
The quick shot of Cooper is a still from the 2015 cooking dramedy Burnt, in which Cooper starred as chef Adam Jones. The movie follows Jones, a former superstar chef, on a journey to earn a Michelin star after a history of drug addiction and his explosive temper nearly ended his career.
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It’s an interesting choice, as Jones, in many ways, reflects Carmy’s struggles. He’s a closed-off perfectionist, desperate to make his restaurant work and prove himself, but it’s not until he learns to trust his team in the kitchen that he finds success.
Unfortunately, Burnt was not well-received by fans or critics. The film currently sits at a 28% on the Tomatometer and has a 45% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. A 2019 Eater review calls it “quite possibly the worst food movie ever made.”
One mystery that the episode doesn’t solve is why The Bear used this specific Bradley Cooper cameo. The actor doesn’t appear later in the episode as Jones or himself. It’s unclear if this was just a fun nod for eagle-eyed fans or a tease for Cooper to appear in forthcoming seasons.
You can watch The Bear Season 3 on Hulu and Disney Plus now. We’ve also broken down the meaning behind “keep the spoon” and what The French Laundry is, and make sure you check out other new TV shows streaming this month.
