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Anthony Bourdain’s longtime friend, the French chef Eric Ripert, tells PEOPLE all about his experience filming a cameo for the new biopic Tony
Dominic Sessa stars in the movie as a 19-year-old Bourdain, who finds himself working at a seafood restaurant in 1970s Provincetown, Mass.
Tony is in limited theaters Aug. 7 and releases everywhere Aug. 21
With roughly one month to go before the new Anthony Bourdain biopic Tony hits theaters, PEOPLE has an exclusive new look at photos of Dominic Sessa, Antonio Banderas, Leo Woodall and French chef Eric Ripert on the movie’s set.
Ripert, the 61-year-old chef and author behind New York City-based restaurant Le Bernardin, who was a longtime friend of the late Bourdain, makes a small appearance in the movie based on Bourdain’s earliest days working in a restaurant in 1970s Provincetown, Mass. Sessa, 23, portrays a 19-year-old Bourdain, who travels to Provincetown in hopes of wooing a girl (Emilia Jones) and ultimately finds himself on a new career path after a series of drunken mistakes find him working at a local seafood restaurant known as the Dreadnaught.
“This is a big production, it’s a serious project, so I was very happy to be part of it and I was like a little kid watching what was going on everywhere,” Ripert tells PEOPLE of his time on the movie’s set. “I met [writer-director Matt Johnson] and Dominic in between takes. They had a busy day that day, they were shooting a lot of scenes, but when we met they were very kind to me and very sweet.”
Dominic Sessa and Antonio Banderas on the set of Tony
Credit: Seacia Pavao
Ripert appears for a cameo in Tony as an instructor at the Culinary Institute of America, where Bourdain received a formal education in cooking after his time working behind the counter in Provincetown. The chef has appeared on screen before, including on in the HBO series Treme, but found it fascinating to be on the set of Tony.
“The hour that we shot went very fast and I was blown away by how much goes into a tiny, tiny 10-second scene,” Ripert says.
Dominic Sessa as Anthony Bourdain in Tony
Credit: Seacia Pavao
Tony’s release comes five years after the documentary Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, which featured archival footage from Bourdain’s life and interviews with his friends, family members and colleagues. That documentary captured the fame and success that defined Bourdain’s life after the publication of Kitchen Confidential in 2000, while Tony depicts the gritty lifestyle that turned him on to life in a restaurant kitchen. Banderas, 65, portrays the Portuguese chef whom Bourdain works for at the Dreadnaught, while Woodall, 29, Stavros Halkias and Michael Jibrin portray the potty-mouthed, hard-partying cooks Bourdain works with.
Ripert tells PEOPLE he was particularly impressed by “the humility” Banderas brought to his performance as an experienced chef who takes a liking to Bourdain. “Banderas is generous and humble and obviously serious and disciplined, and those are the qualities of a good chef, even if it’s a small restaurant during the season in Provincetown. His role is very inspiring in many ways because he has all those qualities.”
Michael Jibrin and Stavros Halkias (right) on the set of Tony
Credit: Seacia Pavao
Many details from the movie are directly ripped from the opening chapters of Kitchen Confidential, including, as Ripert notes, a memorable moment when a cook embarks on a quick tryst with a just-married bride visiting the restaurant. “Fans of Anthony will be reminded of that guy being the bad boy,” he adds of Woodall’s character, specifically.
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Antonio Banderas and Dominic Sessa on the set of Tony
Credit: Bob Gruen
Antonio Banderas, Dominic Sessa and Leo Woodall on the set of Tony
Credit: Bob Gruen
Bourdain published a number of books in his lifetime, including three novels on top of various memoirs related to his life and work in the culinary industry. He also memorably hosted the travel and food shows A Cook’s Tour, No Reservations and Parts Unknown until his death in 2018. “I don’t know if he would have thought about anyone doing a movie about him being in Provincetown,” Ripert says of the new biopic. “I think he would have been honored to have someone interested in doing a movie on him, but not necessarily that period of his life.”
Tony is in limited theaters Aug. 7 and releases everywhere Aug. 21.
Read the original article on People
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