The Bear: How Jeremy Allen White Made The One-Take Al-Anon Scene In S1 More Intense
With "The Bear" Season 2 finally upon us, many fans may want to look back on what made Season 1 so special, preparing for all of the chaos that's sure to come in the newest episodes. While Season 2 adds a new flavor of anxiety, it'll be hard for the FX series to top Carmy's monologue from Season 1, which Jeremy Allen White perfected over the entire time filming. "I had this sort of monologue in my head, for the whole show I had it folded up in my back pocket. I would look at it all the time," White told Gold Derby, saying that the monologue was Carmy's blueprint.
He didn't want to know his lines verbatim so that he could stay true to his character. Instead, he opted for a more natural memorization process, finding the perfect blend as he read it throughout filming. "It was a tough balance to find because obviously it's a lot of words to memorize, but I didn't want it to get too cold. I didn't want it to be on the tip of my tongue every next word. So yeah, it was kind of a difficult balance."
In the end, White brought the Chicago chef's words to life, pouring his heart out in a seven-minute monologue, coming to many realizations on the issues that plagued him throughout the season.
Jeremy Allen White didn't know his monologue would be one take
Jeremy Allen White went to extreme lengths to ensure his monologue in "The Bear" was as authentic and emotional as possible. However, he had no idea showrunner Christopher Storer planned to shoot it all in one take.
"They shot it in one take, but they did not tell me that, which I'm grateful for," White said in his interview with Gold Derby. "I think if Chris had told me that we were going to try to do it in one, I would've gotten in my head." With the number of cameras the production used, the actor had no idea if there would be cuts in between his lines of dialogue, so when it came time to film, he just ran with it. Not knowing allowed him to focus solely on bringing Carmy's words to life, which he had worked to perfect the entire production schedule, and the result was one of the best scenes in "The Bear" Season 1.
As for what's in store for Season 2, White thinks Carmy still has more healing to do — just because he realized what a lot of his problems were during the Al-Anon meeting, doesn't mean they were all solved. The chef is in a different place when audiences see him in Season 2, but he has plenty of room to grow and heal.