The prevailing school of thought around Ebon Moss-Bachrach is that mainstream culture slept on him for too long. For the best part of 25 years he was a jobbing actor, grafting away, acclaim, fame and big money roles eluding him. There were moments of broader recognition, but for the most part he was underutilised and underappreciated. Then, in 2022, enter The Bear, FX’s phenomenally successful TV show about a dysfunctional found family of chefs struggling to keep a rundown sandwich joint afloat. As the disruptive, loudmouth “cousin” Richie, he stole pretty much every scene he was in, walking away with an Emmy in the process. Finally, Moss-Bachrach had arrived.
That’s the trope anyway: struggling artist finally comes good. But the 47-year-old actor doesn’t see it that way. “There’s a convenient narrative I find myself trying to resist that people often like to imprint, that’s like, I’ve been waiting in the wings or something,” he says. “And that’s just kind of romantic and stupid and oversimplified. I mean, I’ve been, in my mind, pretty successful. I don’t know what percentage of my union works, but it’s very small. And yeah, I’ve never had anything connect like The Bear, but I’ve been fine.”
