For years, the term “yes, Chef” was relegated to high-end kitchens and white glove restaurants, but due to the colossal fame of FX’s The Bear – fans of the hit show have been inspired to use the term of endearment in everyday life. And the driving force behind the show’s success? Emmy winner and film veteran Jeremy Allen White.
White has been popping up on our screens, both big and small, since his film debut in Beautiful Ohio in 2006. Since then, audiences have had the opportunity to delight in his quirky, often self-loathing, and utterly entertaining characters.
He soared from day player roles on Law & Order to carrying the 23-time Emmy nominated television show that effectively broke the record for most comedy wins in one year in 2024.
Jeremy Allen White, winner of the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Liza Colón-Zayas, winner of the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, winner of the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for “The Bear”, pose in the press room during the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater on September 15, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Aside from The Bear, take a look through the exciting journey of this star on the rise.
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As mentioned above, the Brooklyn native began his career as most actors do – small parts in legal dramas such as Conviction where he played a young punk named Jack Phelps and micro-budget produced short films like The Fourth and Gloria & Eric.
Heading into the 2010s, White’s notoriety began to pick up when he booked his breakout role as Phillip “Lip” Gallagher, a bright but broken member of the dysfunctional Gallagher family in Showtime’s Shameless. Per LA Times, the 11-season juggernaut, which ended in August 2021, garnered 16 nominations, 4 Emmy wins, and for the father-of-two, fame.
During his successful run on Shameless, White spent his breaks in featured roles in such films as Movie 43, After Everything, working alongside superstar Marisa Tomei, and Viena and the Fantomes, starring A-listers Dakota Fanning, Zoe Kravitz, and Evan Rachel Wood.
Featured in a GQ article in July 2022, The Iron Claw star was apparently in the middle of shooting the 10th season of Shameless when The Bear showrunner Christopher Storer approached him with the pilot for the FX sensation in hopes of playing the front-man, Chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto.
In the interview with GQ, White shared, “There were some parallels [between Carmy and Lip]: I’d be going from playing a gifted kid in a dysfunctional working class Chicago family to … a gifted kid in a dysfunctional working class Chicago family. [In the beginning] I think I was too concerned with what other people might think.”
White continued to comment, “I also knew that if I said no to this, that whoever ended up doing it, I would hate them forever. So, there was some spiteful stuff going on, too.”
Now clad with Emmys, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards, Calvin Klein campaigns, and much more, White’s momentum does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
Season Four of The Bear is set to air on FX/HULU in June 2025.
