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Louise Thomas
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Fans of The Bear were left baffled over an unexpected cameo from Bradley Cooper in season three of the show.
The Maestro actor, 49, appears in the tenth and final episode of The Bear season three, which follows Jeremy Allen White’s award-winning chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto as he attempts to turn his dead brother’s Chicago sandwich shop into a fine dining destination.
Titled “Forever”, the concluding episode of the series opens with Carmy at the “funeral” of the restaurant Ever, which his mentor Terry (Olivia Colman) is closing down. When Carmy arrives at the service, he walks through a hall covered with photos of famous chefs from The Bear universe – and Bradley Cooper is one of them.
The photo of Cooper, which Terry has stuck to her restaurant’s wall, was taken from 2015’s Burnt, in which Cooper played the fiery Parisian chef Adam Jones.
In the film, directed by John Wells and written by Peaky Blinders‘ Steven Knight, Adam’s prestigious career as a renowned chef is derailed by his drug and alcohol addiction.
Fans were shocked by Cooper’s character being included in the season three finale of The Bear. “A split-second shot of a photo of Bradley Cooper’s character in Burnt, implying he exists in the universe of the show,” one viewer wrote on X/Twitter. “This is going to drive me insane.”
Referencing Burnt’s dramatic plot, another fan added: “I can’t believe Uma Thurman as a British food critic and Daniel Bruhl as a closeted (?) restaurateur in love with Bradley Cooper enough to bankroll his restaurant (??) exist in The Bear universe.”
Meanwhile, one person theorised: “I think this implies that Bradley Cooper studied at this restaurant for his role in Burnt, a movie that exists in The Bear.”
Although the team behind The Bear are yet to explain their reasons for including Cooper in the series, some fans have called on producers to feature the actor in full episodes for season four.
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The Bear has become known for its glittering celebrity cameos, which so far have included award-winning actors Olivia Colman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Will Poulter, and Josh Hartnett.
Poulter, who plays pastry chef Luca on the show, previously admitted he “literally begged” director Chris storer to let him feature on the series.
“He was kind enough to gift me with the offer to play Luca and it really changed my life, to be honest,” the actor told Variety. “It kind of helped me realise a dream of playing a chef on TV.”
He continued: “I have such an immense amount of respect for chefs and the women and men of that industry. I feel like the whole society stands on the shoulders of people in the food and beverage industry, and we don’t even necessarily really know it or think about it.
“They sustain us and maintain us daily and they don’t get enough thanks for what they do.”
The Bear season three is available to stream on Disney+.
