Let's start off by saying, there is no romance in The Bear. No sex scenes to fantasise over, not even a knowing look (unless you count the chemistry between Carmy and his brother Michael, played by the hunky Jon Bernthal). Yet somehow, the series has triggered a feral response across all corners of the internet. But as we all know, seduction doesn't have to be on the nose. In fact, if Adam Driver's performance in Girls tells us anything, it's that the more abhorrent the better. Needless to say, we're randy for Jeremy Allen White.
Leading the hit Hulu series as its brooding protagonist, Carmen 'Carmy' Berzatto, Allen White's performance has opened the floodgates to a decade-worth of untapped thirst. For those who consumed Shameless, another Chicago-focused series with a lineup of questionable characters, these feelings have always been there bubbling below the surface for its whizzkid Lip.
I have moved on from men that look like Jeremy Allen White because I have self esteem, BUT—there really is something about his hands pic.twitter.com/M9DkIsHmm0
— Meech (@MediumSizeMeech) July 11, 2022
This time around the seduction is physical not verbal; the way Jeremy Allen White manhandles meat and thrusts his Yoshimi Echizen knife around. Or the veins lining his arms and his more-than-capable hands. And let's not get into his sad blue eyes. Or the fact that, at least with Carmy, we've all sworn off his type: emotionally unavailable, tousle-haired chefs with tattoos.
Perhaps, The Bear's director Christopher Storer put it best when he told GQ how Allen White stood out for his "warmth and intelligence" and because "there’s something a little dangerous to him". Shudder.
Rarely does Hollywood get the high-pressure environment of kitchens right, often falling into the trap of melodrama, the awkward use of jargon and half-baked references. But this series captures it with a surprising dexterity. So there's that too.
Since The Bear dropped back in June 23, 2022, Jeremy Allen White has quickly taken the crown of white boy of the month – sorry Joseph Quinn. That's why below, we're bringing you a steaming hot delivery of everything we know about the actor. Lap it up.
1. He's taken
Sorry pals, Jeremy Allen White is off the market. The actor's love life has (understandably) been the source of much speculation in recent years. For a while, it appeared Allen White was in a romance with musician Rosalía, with the duo frequently spotted grabbing dinner, visiting flower markets and, naturally, piling on the PDA. But as of September 27, 2024, the actor appears to have a new leading lady in his life: Molly Gordon. The actress (who also stars in The Bear) was spotted kissing Allen White by a car in Los Angeles, breaking hundreds of hearts in the process. So how did we get here? According to Gordon, the pair met for the first time on set of The Bear.
"Our first day of shooting together was the refrigerator scene," she told Glamour in July, 2023. "The first time I met him, I felt that excitement of meeting an actor that you admire, but I also felt like I had known him for so long. He’s such a generous, available person, whereas you have to pull so many other actors out of their shells. He was like, ‘I’m in this with you.’ I immediately felt like there was something really good there, and I felt safe in that dynamic." We would too, TBH.
Prior to his escapaeds with Rosalia and Gordon, Allen White was married fellow actress Addison Timlin. They married in 2019, but called it quits in late 2023. The pair also have two children together, Ezer and Dolores. They're really quite cute.
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2. He had no kitchen skills prior to The Bear
As previously mentioned, on screen portrayals of kitchens and hospitality often miss the mark. So to elicit a realistic performance, Jeremy Allen White prepared for the role by working in restaurant kitchens across New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. When he began he had zero technical skills, so he did a two-week culinary crash course and would dedicate 30 minutes to and hour each night after filming to practicing his knife skills and chopping vegetables.
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3. He acted on Shameless for a decade
Jeremy Allen White landed the role of Lip Gallagher in Shameless straight after he graduated high school. What he didn't know is that the series would end up spanning a decade, or three US presidencies. Towards the end of his time on Shameless, Allen White began to seriously doubt his acting abilities. In an interview with GQ, he explained that "there was a period where I stopped feeling like an actor and I started feeling like I was just here to do this show," he told the magazine. "It was an upsetting head space to be in. When it was going to end, I was questioning: Maybe I do just exist on this show. What else is there? Am I an actor? I was definitely having a lot of doubt when I was finishing Shameless."
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4. He's aware of all of our thirsty Tweets
He may not have Twitter but his friends sure do, and you can bet that they send him screenshots of us simping. Are we embarrassed? Not in the slightest.
the fact that jeremy allen white met his wife at 14 and he's just a good husband and father and nice, down to earth guy but we all just tweet the most disgusting nasty things about what he could do with these fingers...i am sorry lord in heaven https://t.co/yfAPF4L9Bs
— ashley ray (@theeashleyray) July 11, 2022
Image: Twitter
