Molly Gordon (‘The Bear’) on being offered a recurring role on the show: ‘It will forever be the most special moment of my life’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

It was in 2019 that Molly Gordon was cast in a pair of episodes of the Ramy Youssef series “Ramy” and had an opportunity to work with a producer and director named Christopher Storer. “I had two incredible days on set with Chris and Ramy,” she recalls, “and I was electrified by that experience. I was like, ‘This is why I wanted to be an actor. This is so special. How do I bottle this?’ And Chris said, ‘We’re going to work together again.’ And people say that, but they never actually mean it.” But Storer meant it. When he was looking for a love interest for the tortured Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) on the multiple-Emmy winning “The Bear” that he created and ran, it was Gordon whom he reached out to – calling her and offering her the part without an audition. Gordon says, “It will forever be the most special moment of my life.” Watch the exclusive video interview above.

Gordon had already been well aware of “The Bear,” of course, having binged Season 1 “in this kind of fever dream” while editing the comedy feature she co-wrote, co-produced, co-directed, edited and co-starred in, “Theater Camp.” “I’d texted Chris and told him, ‘This is the best thing I’ve ever seen, and I’m so proud of you’.” Then came the call that offered her the role of Claire, a woman Carmy had grown up with and who’d had a crush on him in middle school. Now she was an emergency medicine resident about to become a full-fledged doctor, and they have a meet-cute moment at the supermarket in the second episode of Season 2. The character is based on a friend of Storer’s, and the showrunner was so certain the chemistry would work between White and Gordon that he didn’t bother screen-testing or even having them meet in advance of that first scene together in the market.

“I think Chris knew that I use my humor to mask my kind of self-loathing while Jeremy is a more quiet human, and our kind of energy would combine to create something compelling,” Gordon observes. “But yeah, I was so nervous just to step up to the plate. Jeremy is one of our greats. I really believe that. I think he is literally like the Sean Penn, Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep of our time. So I was like…can I match his level? But he welcomes me with open arms. And that (opening) scene in the supermarket was such an electric feeling. It was like this beautiful, nostalgic kind of energy of my favorite old romantic comedies that we just haven’t seen on screen for a while. It was a really special experience.”

The reason Claire was brought onto the show to help pry open Carmy’s closed-off heart. Claire, Gordon points out, has figured out her life balance more than has Carmy “and wants to attempt to be close to someone.” And there Carmy was in that supermarket. “That was the first moment that the train stopped moving for Carmy, and he slowed down and just was still for a moment,” she says. The way that meeting is shot in tight close-up is literally the opposite of the anxiety-inducing restaurant kitchen chaos that had come to define “The Bear.” “Iy felt like coming home to that feeling I;d had on ‘Ramy’ many years before, of really getting to connect with someone deeply on screen. And not that many actors are that open with new people (as White was).”

That magic doesn’t last. Claire may be ready to leap into a relationship with Carmy, but he’s barely ready for his next meal, much less intimacy. “Claire is all about making Carmy feel seen while also, I think, flipping the gender role a bit,” Gordon believes. We’re used to seeing men chase women, and I think he was like, ‘This girl is ready to be in a relationship.’ She’s like, ‘Let’s f-ing do this. I’m ready.’ Claire is not afraid of connection, and I think we talked a lot about how even just eye contact is scary for Carmy – how I need to be this calming balm.”

It all comes to a head in the final episode of Season 2 while Carmy is locked inside a walk-in restaurant fridge and Claire overhears his despair. But that doesn’t mean they’ve broken up for good. In fact, while Gordon rightly refuses to divulge any details, she does confirm that she returns for Season 3. “I’m lucky to be back on a job that I enjoy so much. And getting to work with Jeremy and Chris and the whole gang is fantastic.”

The first two seasons of “The Bear” are streaming on Hulu, with all 10 episodes of Season 3 scheduled to drop on June 27.