Vegan cheese? Yes, chef!
Lionel Boyce, who has so far played beloved character Marcus Brooks in hit series “The Bear” for two seasons, is basking in the afterglow of TV awards season. The FX/Hulu show secured several awards, including the Golden Globe for Best Television Series (Musical or Comedy) and the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Boyce spoke to TODAY.com from his parked car, something his people say he is prone to doing as a man frequently on the move. He clearly hasn’t taken this down time between filming seasons to rest on his laurels, becoming a spokesperson for dairy-free food company Daiya.
“I was actually honestly surprised at how many people were down to try a sandwich out of a strange man’s briefcase,” Boyce says about a guerilla marketing event he participated in with the brand on the streets of New York.
On Jan. 25, the company launched its Fromage Forgery project, introducing the brand’s cheese dupes to the public with the help of Boyce.
“I was surprised at everyone’s reluctance, and then you would see the honest turn where they were like, ‘Oh, this is actually pretty good,’” Boyce says of people trying the product. “People in New York are more open to try things than I thought.”
Boyce says the 17-year-old brand encouraged him to have fun, which is where the costume came in. Donning a ponytail wig and a suit reminiscent of his time as a cast member of Cartoon Network’s “Loiter Squad,” Boyce handed out Daiya cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches — and got recognized by “The Bear” fans.
“I thought my wig would have made me look like a different person but I realized I just look like me with a wig,” he jokes.
As for being seen as a “food person” now, with likely more food-related partnerships in the future, the actor says he didn’t take the job lightly.
“You have to have a respect for the culinary world,” Boyce says, adding that he reveres restaurants, their workers and the food they create. Boyce showed his respect for restaurant workers by thanking them onstage at the Golden Globes, highlighting “the highs and the lows” of working in food.
“I had a lot of thought behind it and just wanted to make sure this is a brand that I could stand behind,” Boyce says. “You have more thought and consideration behind it because you don’t want to just feel like you’re coming in and just like, ‘Oh, we’re doing this show and we’re just gonna do a million commercials.’”
“The Bear” stars are off doing other things at the moment — recent Emmy-winner, maybe Irish-expat and former TODAY cover star Ayo Edebiri recently appeared in “Bottoms” and lead Jeremy Allen White appeared a much-discussed Calvin Klein campaign — but Boyce says he can’t wait to get back to filming.
“Going back to Chicago, and getting to hang out with everybody … it’s its own world,” Boyce says. “We’re not shooting it in like L.A. or New York, where you go to work and then you leave work and then you already have friends and life already going on. It’s really just like its own little bubble of summer camp. You create a routine there. So I’m just excited about having this life in Chicago for a little bit of time.”
Boyce says some of his Chicago favorites include the perfectly named soul-food spot Oooh We It Is, retro-style burger joint Small Cheval, and Batter & Berries, where the actor enjoys interactions with a riddler of sorts.
“There’s a guy there and he has riddles that he asks. It’s very fun.” Boyce says. “The first time I went, he asked three riddles and I got them right. And he was like, ‘Wow, this is a challenge.’ The next time he had these complex riddles, I didn’t get any of them. So I feel like I’m preparing myself to go back there, and the food is good. They have great French toast.”
Marcus, his character, is known for being open to trying new things, whether it be a technique or ingredient, or staging in Amsterdam like in Season Two episode “Honeydew.” This is something Boyce says he shares with his character.
“I appreciate food more because of the show,” Boyce says, adding that he gained a deeper understanding of baking through his kitchen training. He had previously perceived it “as a science,” rather than an art. “I learned more about the creativity that goes into (baking) … the freedom.”
