Joel McHale Teases 2 Real Chefs Inspired Heartless NYC Chef in ‘The Bear’ – and Does He Want to Return? [Exclusive]

Actor/comedian Joel McHale typically plays the funny charmer in most of his roles, but when it came to playing an aggressive and abusive “NYC chef” in The Bear, he left his typical persona at the door.

McHale’s character was woven into chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto’s (Jeremy Allen White) flashbacks of working at a Michelin-starred restaurant like The French Laundry. Carmy is clearly working through past trauma in The Bear, which stemmed from his family, but also the abuse he endured in the restaurant at the hands of McHale’s character. At one point, McHale’s character snarls at Carmy, “Why are you so slow? Why are you so f***ing slow? Why? You think you’re so tough. Yeah. Why don’t you say this? Say, ‘Yes, chef, I’m so tough.’”

McHale, who is the polar opposite of the character he played in The Bear said he had a blast with the role and joked about how he’s gotten more press in the three quick appearances he made in the first season of the FX series. Since his character certainly seemed to have a significant impact on Carmy, does McHale think he could return for season 2? And was there any particular chef he had in mind when it came to playing the icy, clinical-appearing chef?

Joel McHale teases ‘The Bear’ chef was based on 2 chefs

During an interview with Showbiz Cheat Sheet about Certified Angus Beef, McHale reflected on the role in The Bear, joking about how he was actually the “hero” of the series. He said the role sort of just fell in his lap on a lark.

“[Director] Chris Storer, who is the longtime boyfriend of Gillian Jacobs, who played Britta on Community, I’ve been friends with him since 2011, and he asked me to just come in,” he recalled. “I mean, that scene took one morning. It was half a day in Chicago. So if you look at the scene, it’s about three minutes long. But he did tell me the name of a chef it’s based on and he goes, ‘It’s also with this other chef.’ I’m like, OK.” McHale didn’t reveal who exactly were the real-life chefs.

“But then we were just chatting about how to go about it and, and that was that,” he said. “The key was to just keep your voice very low. And yeah, he said some pretty awful things. So that all that stuff is true.”

McHale also said he didn’t have restaurant experience to turn to for the role. “I have worked in a very high-end deli that had a lot of stuff like that. But I’ve never been a waiter. I worked in wine shops,” he said. “I worked at an espresso cart for years in Seattle.”

Would Joel McHale return for ‘The Bear’ Season 2?

Joel McHale may have only been in The Bear Season 1 for a few minutes, but it is clear his character had a direct impact on Carmy. Does McHale think The Bear Season 2 may end up featuring more of his character?

“Well, he fired him, he didn’t have a job,” McHale pointed out about what his character does to Carmy. “I hope he comes back. I don’t know. That’s a good question. Believe me, I was perfectly happy with how it came out. And I’ve gotten more press over that three minutes than an entire season of a CBS show I did. So I’ll take it.”

See Joel McHale in The Bear Season 1, currently streaming on Hulu.