The Holdovers breakout lead Dominic Sessa is reportedly in negotiations to star in an Anthony Bourdain biopic.
If you’ve ever had the opportunity to listen to the late Anthony Bourdain talk about food, and more specifically, the way his life was connected to food (ever since his first oyster as a young boy) there’s something undeniably cinematic about it. From the tough kitchens he worked in when he started out to the immense pressure he faced as he rose to the very top.
It’s a fascinating setup that we’ve seen used across media, from reality TV shows like Hell’s Kitchen or an endless assortment of Netflix shows to dramas like The Bear... but it’s something that cinema has sometimes struggled with. In recent years we’ve seen some excellent examples in the genre such as Boiling Point and The Menu.
A story based on the life of Anthony Bourdain seems like a rather good idea, then. The chef rose to prominence through his work in various restaurants across New York in the 80s and 90s but more than anything, it was his memoirs about the ‘ugly secrets’ of restaurants that really made him a figure to follow.
Read more: Boiling Point, The Bear and drama in the kitchen
Following their publication, Bourdain’s fame grew and he would later publish books such as Kitchen Confidential where he continued his no-holds barred approach to describing the food scene in which he plied his trade. He died in 2018.
According to Deadline, it looks as though Bourdain’s life – or at least part of it – is going to be given the biopic treatment. A24 is reportedly in line to acquire the project which has been put together by production company Star Thrower Entertainment. Tony is the film’s current title.
Dominic Sessa, the young actor who earned plenty of plaudits in last year’s The Holdovers, is in line to play Bourdain. It couldn’t have been be easy for him to hold his own against the likes of Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph (who won an Oscar for her performance), but Sessa did just that.
When you look at the way other actors such as Austin Butler and Rami Malek have used the biopic format to elevate their careers, it’s not a bad strategy. The source material is of course, excellent, too, and Bourdain remains as fascinating a character now as he was when he was alive.
We’ll bring you more on this one as we hear it.
