Dominic Sessa Details Becoming Anthony Bourdain for New Biopic TONY
The actor discusses drawing on Kitchen Confidential to capture Bourdain's early kitchen years.
Dominic Sessa described the challenge of stepping into the persona of Anthony Bourdain for the new biopic TONY, sitting down with TODAY to break down his transformation into the late chef, author and travel host. Sessa spoke about the physical and emotional work of embodying Bourdain, focusing on the formative period he spent coming up in professional kitchens before he became a household name.
Sessa told TODAY he pulled inspiration directly from Bourdain's memoir "Kitchen Confidential" while preparing for the role, using the book to inform how he approached Bourdain's voice and mindset during his early culinary career. He also discussed the experience of having chef Eric Ripert, a renowned French chef and close friend of Bourdain, present on the set during filming, describing what that presence added to the production.
Much of the conversation centered on how TONY approaches Bourdain's early days in THE KITCHEN rather than the later years he became famous for as a television personality. Sessa reflected on what drew him to that specific chapter of Bourdain's life and how the film aims to show audiences a formative period before Bourdain's rise to public recognition.
Sessa also shared what he hopes viewers take away from the film once it reaches audiences, framing TONY as a look at the person behind the persona that later defined Bourdain's television career. The interview offered a glimpse into the preparation behind portraying a real-life figure whose legacy remains closely tied to both the culinary world and his own written accounts of it.
