The award-winning actor opens up about dealing with the overwhelming attention that comes with starring in a mega-hit series.
Jeremy Allen White knew what being a household name entailed after starring in Showtime's long-running dramedy, Shameless, but it wasn't until he landed the lead in FX's critically acclaimed series, The Bear, that he learned what superstardom entailed.
"It's been insane, a lot of high highs, a lot of terribly low lows," White tells British GQ of finding himself "hounded" by paparazzi and having his private life become "wrenchingly" public thanks as the show's success garners more attention.
From grabbing a bite to eat with his co-stars to more intimate moments with those in his life, White admits that it's been jarring having his every move scrutinized within the public sphere.
"It's such a weird aspect of this thing that I truly never thought I would ever deal with whatsoever," he tells the outlet, recalling an interaction with a paparazzo taking pictures of him after a run. "It's not fun, and it's not nice, and it's really weird."
White laments that it's especially disorienting to be thrust into the spotlight when his personal life is going through a rollercoaster of events.
White and his estranged wife, Addison Timlin, called it quits earlier this year, when she filed for divorce in May. The longtime couple met in 2008 and welcomed their first child, Ezer, a decade later. White and Timlin tied the knot in a courthouse ceremony back in 2019 and then, in December 2020, welcomed their second daughter, Dolores.
He shares that he's taken a break from working the rest of the year, explaining, "With everything going on in my personal life, I thought, 'OK, let's just pump the brakes in general, and maybe you don't work for a while. I made this choice to not work for the rest of the year and just be with my daughters and just slow it all down."
White will appreciate the time as FX recently announced that The Bear has been renewed for a third season, to debut in 2024.
Created by Christopher Storer, the Emmy-nominated FX comedy series tells the story of fine-dining chef Carmy Berzatto (White), who returns home to save his family's failing Chicago sandwich shop, The Original Beef, in the wake of his brother Michael's (Jon Bernthal) suicide. To do so, he teams up -- and oftentimes butts heads -- with sous chef Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri). In season 2, Carmy and Sydney work together with the rest of the kitchen's beloved staff to develop a new, high-end restaurant, The Bear.
"The Bear, which wowed audiences in its first season only to achieve even greater heights in season two, has become a cultural phenomenon," said Nick Grad, President of FX Entertainment, in a press release. "We're so proud to partner with Christopher Storer, Joanna Calo, Josh Senior, and the rest of the creative team, as well as the brilliant cast led by Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. What they and the crew have done is truly remarkable, and we and our partners at Hulu join fans in looking forward to the next chapter in the story of The Bear."
The series received an impressive 13 Emmy nominations for its first season, after initially premiering in July 2022. The second season, which premiered in June 2023, debuted to even more critical acclaim and is expected to secure more nominations next year.
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