Ayo Edebiri, known for her breakout role as Sydney Adamu in FX’s critically acclaimed series “The Bear,” has added another impressive credit to her resume. The talented actress made her directorial debut with the sixth episode of the show’s third season, titled “Napkins,” further cementing her status as a rising star in Hollywood.
In a recent press conference for “The Bear” Season 3, Edebiri shared her enthusiasm for her first foray into directing. “Directing was a blast. I really loved it,” she said, describing the experience as “a dream” and “a bit of a master class.” The actress-turned-director expressed deep appreciation for the opportunity to work with the show’s crew and cast from a new perspective.
“I got to direct some of my favorite actors in the world,” Edebiri enthused. “I was just in the best circumstances of… truly just masters of their craft beside me, and I just felt so lucky.” She went on to say that directing might be “the best job in the world” or at least “tied for first place” with acting.
The episode Edebiri directed, “Napkins,” focuses on the backstory of Tina Marrero, played by Liza Colón-Zayas. Set in 2018, it explores how Tina came to work at The Beef, the restaurant at the heart of the series. The episode provides valuable insight into Tina’s character and her relationship with Mikey Berzatto, portrayed by Jon Bernthal.
Edebiri revealed that her directorial debut had been in discussion with showrunner Christopher Storer before the third season began. When asked about how she ended up directing this specific episode, Edebiri explained that while the producers had some ideas about episode distribution, they were open to her input.
“We had a conversation, and he was like, ‘Which scripts are you responding to?'” Edebiri recounted. “And I was like, ‘I would literally give you my firstborn child, who does not exist yet, if I could do the Liza episode, because I would love to work with Liza in that way.'” Fortunately, this aligned with the producers’ vision, resulting in what Edebiri called “nice little parallel thinking.”
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Edebiri wasn’t the only guest director for the season. She mentioned that Duccio Fabbri, the show’s assistant director, also directed an episode, highlighting the series’ commitment to nurturing talent both in front of and behind the camera.
With this successful directorial debut under her belt, industry observers speculate that this may be just the beginning of Edebiri’s career behind the camera. As “The Bear” continues to garner critical acclaim and a devoted fanbase, Edebiri’s multifaceted contributions both as an actress and now as a director are sure to be a significant factor in the show’s ongoing success.
All 10 episodes of “The Bear” Season 3 are now available to stream on Hulu, offering viewers the chance to see Edebiri’s directorial skills in action alongside her already celebrated acting performance.
