From The Bear to Brixton Market: Edwin Lee Gibson talks wrapping season five and his favourite foodie spots
Serviiiiice
The Bear has been one of the biggest cult TV shows of recent years, leading to an epidemic of people squeezing past one another in kitchens, on buses, and in workplaces yelling “behind!” and “corner!” and hoping the recipient gets the reference.
After breaking our hearts, making us hungry, and leaving us open-mouthed at the incredible cameos (whoever booked Will Poulter and Olivia Coleman, give them a raise), season five wrapped, leaving our Apple Watches telling us to stop stressing out, and a hole in our TV hearts.
Whilst there's not going to be another season of the hit show (sob), series five ended on as close to a high as the stress-inducing smash hit allows, bringing all the heart and hope its served up over the last half decade.
Want one final taste? As the show wrapped, we caught up with star Edwin Lee Gibson, who plays the quiet, thoughtful Ebraheim, who chatted to us about the emotion and expectation behind the final season, as well as his expert cheffing credentials IRL.
Shortlist: Hello from London
Edwin Lee Gibson: One of my favourite cities, London.
SL: Really?
ELG: Oh yeah, I was scheduled to come back there for the season five screenings but things changed.
SL: Where are some of your favourite places to go in town?
ELG: Everywhere! I mean, I usually stay in Waterloo as I’ve worked with The National [Theatre] so I can go right into The Cut which I love. Eat, drink, be merry, I'd say.
SL: Very Shakespearean
ELG: But I also like over in Borough, just down from Longstreet, going to the market. I spent a lot of time there. But also Brixton, I love Brixton – such a great market and culture. And I love East London as well, so, the whole city, I love its energy.
SL: You've picked a lot of the foodie spots as well, like Brixton Market and Borough Market, which feels very on brand with The Bear.
ELG: Piccadilly Circus has a great area over there too, where I go and smoke cigars, right off St. James. I love the entire entire place.
SL: Talking about The Bear, congratulations on season five — I think everyone was equally heartbroken that it's come to an end. When you've worked behind the scenes on a show, we imagine it affects the way you then see the final finished episodes. Do you have a similar feeling now with food at restaurants you visit, what with your experience in the kitchen of The Bear?
ELG: I have even more appreciation. For what's done and the time it takes for it to be done. I was always really good about that anyway, but I've become even better. It's got to be something hugely egregious, [for me to complain] but I understand things happen, so I think doing the show has made me even more appreciative of the restaurant industry, especially why things close, what it takes to get them open... Personnel, all those things.
SL: One of the reasons we love the show so much is that the ensemble is so well realised. Everyone has such a great storyline, each character has their own established arc, their own backstory, which is really interestingly explored. And there's no bad character. So I was wondering, if you had to swap characters with someone else, even if it was just for a scene, who else would you like to play?
ELG: I think I'd like to play... Carmy. And I say that because I came up with this thing that I noticed early on, which was that as anagrams go, Carmy – Bear – and Ebra [my character's nickname] are an anagram of each other. I discovered that at the end of season one, and so I was just like, "this is this cool". But I'd also like to play Richie, I think Ebon [Moss-Bachrach] is having a little bit too much fun.
SL: The Bear historically has had such good cameos. You've had Will Poulter, you've had Olivia Coleman. I mean, British audiences are screaming with jealousy, watching these people walk on. Do you have a dream person that you would have loved to have seen make a cameo in it? Is there someone you fangirl over who could have made a feature?
ELG: Well, I was hoping Olivia would come back, she and I had a great chat. She didn't recognise me because I look very different when I'm not Ebraheim. And so what she did, she went like, "Oh really love you." Oh, and I was like, "Well, no, I really love you." Broadchurch and everything else. Big fan.
I would really like Wumni Mosaku, she and I know each other a bit and I think, if Ebraheim had a daughter I want it to be her.
SL: Fans were treated to the surprise flashback episode "Gary" in between season four and five. But if you could get a surprise extra episode from another TV show, what would you love to see?
ELG: I'd like to get a flashback episode of Top Boy where Shane and Sully don't die. I would like that because I really think there's some redemption that those characters go through, that I think that they should be allowed. I would never get tired of Line of Duty, – if you can tell, I'm a big UK TV fan.
SL: Broadchurch too!
ELG: Love Broadchurch!
SL: You can never have too much!
EGL: Agreed!
You can watch all episodes of The Bear seasons 1-5 on Disney+
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