The characters of the FX Networks television series The Bear, an American family dramedy television program launched in 2022, are predominantly people who work with the Berzattos at family businesses including a semi-seedy Italian beef sandwich shop, the Original Beef of Chicagoland. The Beef is later transformed into a high-end dinner destination (with a window on the side, for sandwiches) known as the Bear. The series is set in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Cast list Color key: Top-billed cast Three or more appearances per season One or two appearances per season Character Actor Appearances Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Special Main cast Carmy Berzatto Jeremy Allen White colspan="5" Richie Jerimovich Ebon Moss-Bachrach colspan="6" Sydney Adamu Ayo Edebiri colspan="5" Marcus Brooks Lionel Boyce colspan="5" Tina Marrero Liza Colón-Zayas colspan="5" Natalie Berzatto Abby Elliott colspan="5" Neil Fak Matty Matheson colspan="4" Ebra Edwin Lee Gibson colspan="3" colspan="2" Recurring cast Gary "Sweeps" Woods Corey Hendrix colspan="5" Chi-Chi Christopher Zucchero colspan="3" Manny Richard Esteras colspan="5" Angel José Cervantes Jr. colspan="5" Pete Katinsky Chris Witaske colspan="5" Chef David Fields Joel McHale colspan="2" colspan="3" Chester Carmen Christopher colspan="2" Jimmy "Cicero" Kalinowski Oliver Platt colspan="4" Angela Brooks Alma Washington colspan="4" Claire Bear Molly Gordon colspan="3" Emmanuel Adamu Robert Townsend Josh Alex Moffat colspan="4" Ted Fak Ricky Staffieri colspan="4" Daniela Isa Arciniegas colspan="4" Connor Jack Lancaster colspan="4" Chef Adam Shapiro Adam Shapiro colspan="2" colspan="2" Tiffany Jerimovich Gillian Jacobs colspan="3" colspan="2" Jess Sarah Ramos colspan="2" colspan="2" Garrett Andrew Lopez colspan="2" colspan="2" Rene Rene Gube colspan="2" colspan="2" The Computer Brian Koppelman colspan="2" colspan="2" Chuckie Paulie James colspan="2" colspan="2" Donna Berzatto Jamie Lee Curtis colspan="2" colspan="2" Albert Schnur Rob Reiner colspan="3" colspan="2" Chef Luca Will Poulter colspan="2" colspan="2" Cheese Elsie Fisher colspan="4" Guest cast Delivery guy P. J. Fishwick colspan="5" Nancy Chore Amy Morton colspan="5" Al-Anon leader Molly Ringwald colspan="5" Uncle Frank Mick Napier colspan="5" Mikey Berzatto Jon Bernthal colspan="4" Eva Jerimovich Annabelle Toomey colspan="4" Naiya CG colspan="4" Kelly Mitra Jouhari colspan="4" Kyle James Swanberg colspan="2" Stevie John Mulaney colspan="4" Lee Lane Bob Odenkirk colspan="2" Michelle Berzatto Sarah Paulson colspan="2" Carol Maura Kidwell colspan="4" Chef Andrea Terry Olivia Colman colspan="2" colspan="3" David David Zayas colspan="2" colspan="3" Frank Josh Hartnett colspan="2" colspan="3" Mr. Clark Gary Janetti colspan="3" colspan="2" Chantel Danielle Deadwyler colspan="3" colspan="2" T.J. Arion King colspan="3" colspan="2" Georgie Kate Berlant colspan="3" colspan="2" Francie Fak Brie Larson colspan="3" colspan="2" "Crazy" Mary Heyman Deirdre O'Connell colspan="4" Allan Mitchell Brad Morris colspan="4" Mr. Dearborn Peter Grosz colspan="4" James Brooks Harry Lennix colspan="4" Sue Bonnie Hunt colspan="4" Sherri Marin Ireland colspan="5"
Nuclear family The core Berzatto family consists of the unnamed long-absent father "Pop," mom Donna, the kids Mikey, Sugar, and Bear, and Cousin Richie, a biologically unrelated neighborhood kid who grew up in the family as Mikey's best friend and a de facto foster sibling. The pilot script suggests that Richie has a decade or two on Carmy.
Carmy Berzatto
The youngest sibling by birth order, Carmen Anthony Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) moved back to Chicago following the death of his brother Mikey. Carmy is "a chain-smoking baddie, but he's also a grieving brother, a prodigal son, a self-lacerating overachiever, and a bewildered product of chaos and dysfunction." He left Chicago fairly young to train and work as a chef; he transformed himself from an "insecure, friendless slacker from a troubled home" into a white-hot name on the American culinary scene, cooking at the best restaurants in America and collecting racks of awards. Since returning home, he has reluctantly, incrementally moved into Mikey's place as the acknowledged leader of the family. Carmy is played by Jeremy Allen White. He appears in all episodes of the series except "Napkins," "Ice Chips," "Worms," and "Gary".
Sugar
Natalie Berzatto (Abby Elliott), born 1988, is the middle sibling by birth order. She is close with her surviving brother, Carmy. Originally opposed to Carmy's attempts to rehabilitate the Beef, she left her job at a bank when she was recruited by Carmy's partner Chef Sydney to serve as business manager for the forthcoming Bear restaurant. Sugar appears in the pilot and in all subsequent episodes except "Review," "Napkins," Worms," and "Gary."
Pete
Pete Katinsky (Chris Witaske) is Natalie's kind and loving husband and baby Sophie's dad. When Pete was first introduced, he appeared to be "universally disliked by the family, [but] he turns out to be just a big softie—perhaps naive to the others' hardened ways, but charming because of his kind manner and willingness to look for the best in everyone." Pete works as a lawyer and helps the family with contracts for the restaurant. Pete, a recurring character, first appears in "Hands" in season 1.
Sophie Katinsky Sophie is an infant, Natalie and Pete's first child, born the first week of August 2023. She was born in the episode "Ice Chips," and her name was revealed in the episode "Replicants" when she was introduced to the restaurant-dwelling Bears. The Liszka twins played Sophie in "Replicants," "Sophie," and "Green."
Mikey Berzatto
Michael Berzatto (Jon Bernthal) shot himself in the head on the State Street Bridge a few months before the opening of the series. The loud, lionized, charismatic, and larger-than-life oldest brother of the family, Mikey was first described by Uncle Jimmy in the second episode of the series: "No disrespect...your brother, he was an animal, surrounded by dickheads, and then he lost his mind, and now he put you in a real tough spot." Mikey typically appears in one main flashback per season, and is a central character in the "Gary" special.
Donna Berzatto
Donna Berzatto (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a proud mother and a troubled figure with apparent addiction and mental health issues that have impeded her relationships, particularly with her three biological children, Mikey, Sugar, and Bear. Curtis guest stars in seasons 2 and 3, and recurs in seasons 4 and 5.
"Pop" Berzatto
The name of the Berzatto dad is unknown and it is unclear if he is alive or dead.
Sydney Adamu
Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri) is an excellent, classically trained Chicago-native chef who appears in the pilot as a potential new hire for the Original Beef of Chicagoland. Sydney's goals, as listed at the top of her résumé, are "to obtain a chef's position with the possibility of creative freedoms and the opportunity for management" and "to respect the wisdom of traditional cuisines through a modern lens." Syd's training and work experience includes cooking school at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York, and stints at Smoque, Avec, and Alinea.
Carmy hires her full-time in the second episode and they set to work restoring the Beef and aspire to sustained profitability. Jeremy Allen White told The Daily Beast in 2024 that there was a "real platonic intimacy to [Carmy and Sydney's] relationship. They're incredibly reliant on one another. That's a beautiful thing...I feel like Syd's voice can get through to him because he sees her potential...He has a lot of respect for her abilities. In a lot of ways, she is so many things that Carmy is not." Conversely, Sydney all but worships Carmy as a chef but takes pains not to let him know the extent of her admiration.
Sydney has been described as Carmy's "best friend and kindred spirit." By season 4, Carmy and Syd are broadly acknowledged as "the two main characters," and "we see...that Carmy trusts and cares for [Syd] like he does his own sister. Like Tiffany, she's a Bear forever if she wants to be." Syd was Richie's date to his ex-wife's wedding, and he introduced her to his daughter as "Auntie Sydney." Sydney appears in all episodes of the series except "Fishes," "Napkins" (which Edebiri directed), "Ice Chips, and "Gary."
Syd's family
Emmanuel Adamu (Robert Townsend), a widower who raised only-child Sydney by himself, is introduced in the season 2 episode "Pasta" and is a recurring character, appearing in four episodes of season 2, two episodes of season 3, five episodes of season 4, and the season 5 series finale.
Sydney's cousin Chantel (Danielle Deadwyler), and Chantel's daughter T.J. (Arion King), are introduced in the Sydney-centric season 4 episode "Worms." Deadwyler played Miranda on the HBO miniseries Station Eleven, which was produced and directed by The Bear executive producer Hiro Murai.
Extended family: Cousins Richie Jerimovich & Evie
Richard Lawrence Jerimovich (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) is a de facto Berzatto sibling but not biological kin. He was Mikey's best friend, and told Chef Terry, "My best friend's ma was like my ma." He ran the Original Beef with Mikey and works front of house at the Bear. He has a competitive, often-hostile relationship with Carmy, but when prompted, he told a friend of a friend, "I am indeed his cousin...I love him very much...but please don't tell him." Richie "cosplays Italian" but he is probably of Polish-American (or possibly Ukrainian) heritage. Nonetheless, Richie "embodies some essential tropes of old-fashioned Italian American masculinity, such as loudness, a hot temper, and impulsivityas well as his use of vernacular Italian words and hand gestures."
Richie has a daughter named Eva Jerimovich (Annabelle Toomey) with his ex-wife, Tiff. Mikey was the one who suggested the name Eva. As early as episode two, Richie "reveals his empathy and thoughtfulness, attentively listening to Eva's concerns, openly expressing his love for her, and asking to be updated soon about her settling in the new environment."
Richie is a lead character in the series, appearing in all episodes except for "Ice Chips" and "Worms." Toomey's first appearance is in "Sundae" in season 2, with later scenes in "Violet," "Apologies," "Bears," and "The Original Beef of Chicagoland."
Tiffany Jerimovich
Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs) is Richie's ex-wife and the mother of Evie. Tiff and Richie divorced sometime prior to the beginning of the series. Jacobs told The Hollywood Reporter in 2024, "I do feel like she ended it, but I don't know what her breaking point was." Tiffany told Richie in "Forks" that she was engaged to be married to another man. Tiff and Richie remain devoted co-parents Evie, which keeps them connected, said Jacobs in 2025: "There's always a connection there. She's engaged, which is not easy for Richie. But they treat each other with a lot of love and kindness even though there's a lot of sadness and regret there."
Jacobs is long-term partner of series creator Christopher Storer. Her first appearance as the character Tiff is an uncredited voice role in "Braciole," phoned in from Marseille where she was working on a TV show, and she has appeared periodically in all seasons, most prominently in the season 4 "Bears" episode set at her character's wedding, and in the 2026 special "Gary."
Frank