The Bear Star Is Frustrated by Being Called ‘Cousin’ All Day

Summary

• Ebon Moss-Bacharach’s role as Richie on
  The Bear
  earned him an Emmy and plenty of fan recognition. In fact, a bit too much recognition.
• Moss-Bacharach sometimes feels overwhelmed by fans calling him “Cousin” in public spaces.
• The Bear
  may have catapulted him into fame, but Moss-Bacharach gets upset when people assume that this is his big break, referring to his long career as a working actor.

Ebon Moss-Bacharach has found new fame as Richie ‘Cousin’ Jerimovich on FX’s The Bear, and his growth in stardom comes with a lot more fan interactions, which can sometimes become overwhelming. The Bear follows Carmen Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), a world-class chef who takes over his family’s Chicago sandwich shop after the untimely death of his brother.

Richie, a lifelong family friend of the Berzatto’s (but not an actual cousin), begins Season 1 as the show’s ‘heel,’ constantly stubborn about the changes Carmen is trying to implement to save the shop. However, Season 2 gave Richie newfound purpose, and managed to (in the span of a single episode) transform him from the show’s worst, to one of its best characters — earning the actor an Emmy in the process.

Ebon Moss-Bacharach recently sat down with The Guardian to discuss his work on The Bear, revealing that fans frequently refer to him as ‘Cousin’ when he’s walking around his home state of Massachusetts. The actor said:

I get a lot of comments. People yell ‘Cousin!’ at me all day.

While Moss-Bacharach seems to enjoy some fan interactions, he admitted that being frequently called “Cousin” by strangers can become a little tiring and overwhelming. He explained:

“Sometimes, you know, you’re just not having a great day. And it’s just like: I’m sorry, man, I don’t have much for you.”

Ebon Moss-Bacharch Has Had Some Unexpected Fan Interactions Following The Bear

First debuting on Hulu in 2022, Season 1 of The Bear (an otherwise unassuming show about a family-run restaurant) became the hit series of that summer, earning a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes and inspiring a wave of online memes. Season 2 dropped in 2023, scoring a near perfect 99% on RT, and dominated this year’s award season. To date, the show has earned 10 Primetime Emmy Awards, two BAFTA nominations, multiple Critics Choice Awards (including a Best Supporting Actor win for Ebon Moss-Bacharach), four Golden Globes, and countless others.

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With such a devout following, Ebon Moss-Bacharach finds it hard to escape his newfound success. During the interview, the actor revealed that he has been stopped in some unexpected places by fans wanting to speak with him and praised his work on the show. The actor said:

I was on top of a little mountain outside Kyoto and a Korean couple came up to me and were saying how much they love the show.

Outside The Bear, Moss-Bacharach has also had major roles in the Star Wars series Andor, The Punisher, and Girls, among many others. He is also currently set to star in the MCU’s rebooted Fantastic Four as Ben Grimm/The Thing. The actor admitted that he struggles with fans and media outlets pushing the narrative that he’s finally made it big. Moss-Bacharach said:

“There’s a convenient narrative I find myself trying to resist that people often like to imprint, that’s like, I’ve been waiting in the wings or something. And that’s
just kind of romantic and stupid and oversimplified
. I mean, I’ve been, in my mind, pretty successful. I don’t know what percentage of my union works, but it’s very small. And yeah, I’ve never had anything connect like
The Bear
, but I’ve been fine.”

Season 3 of
The Bear

streams on Hulu

on June 27, 2024. Seasons 1 and 2 can also be streamed on Hulu. Check out the latest trailer below:

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