This post contains details from Season 2 ofFXsThe Bear.
But a few missed called from his moms caretaker could mean some hardship is on the way.
Boyce spoke with Deadline about how diving deeper into his character during Season 2 in theinterviewbelow.
The BearChuck Hodes/FX
DEADLINE: I really loved getting to know Marcus more this season.
How did you feel when you learned that Episode 4 would be his bottle episode?
LIONEL BOYCE:I thought it was really cool.
This is what I want to do, and I want to go forward with it.
You see the pieces of it start to bubble up in Season 2.
Hes inhaling any information that he can get to keep getting better.
So youre like, Okay, well, theres a different meaning to his smile.
And he makes something and hed look to them for their approval of it.
So this was the first time where they werent there, just him.
Early in the episode, chef Luca has a dessert hes having Marcus try.
Hes like, No.
Marcus is looking to him for approval.
Its like No, do it again.
By the end of that, he goes home and he even tells Syd about the conversation.
He talks about feelings there, where he never really talked about his feelings at all in Season 1.
That brings about a different kind of confidence within.
BOYCE:I think it still feels good.
Its not approval, its a different kind of sense of satisfaction.
Its like, Man, Im glad I shared this and that you appreciate it.
And I appreciate you for that.
How do you all rehearse those to get them so perfect?
BOYCE:The first parts were slower, and it felt like making a different show at times.
But those last ones, it was like what we did before.
Its a lot of rehearsal, especially in the last episode, it was so technical.
We had [culinary producer] Courtney Storer there, who was helping us with the choreography.
Its just much easier just to link straight back into the urgency.
DEADLINE: I have to ask about Sydney and Marcus.
BOYCE:[Laughs].
I thought it was such a smart way to go with their story.
There was never any conversation or anything like that.
I thought it was smart that their chemistry just started to naturally build more and more.
And then its real to me that workplace relationships can be complicated.
One person can have like feelings.
Its like we work together.
So many different things going into that, so many different factors.
So its like, we dont know what it is… Youre like, I dont know.
Do I like you or are you a friend?
DEADLINE: I did feel so bad for him.
But I am rooting for them.
BOYCE:Yeah, it feels out of place.
But also, I think to me, hes partly hurt.
Its like a cry for help.
I crashed and burned what we had.
He was just unloading that.
It took a crackhead to bring them back together.
DEADLINE: That scene is so hilarious.
Im glad they didnt leave things completely unresolved.
BOYCE:He really cracked me up with that.
I love that scene.
I remember reading that and Ayo and I were talking about it.
She was like, Im so jealous you get to catch the crackhead.
DEADLINE: The finale ends with the allusion that something is wrong with Marcus mom.
What did you make of that?
BOYCE:it ties back into Episode Four, where he was reluctant to go.
To me, he wasnt going to take that trip.
he had to convince himself and talk to people who were like, Youd be stupid not to go.
Theres no true real conflict in that episode, except for internally.
He was rewarded for it in Episode 4.
So now hes, in a sense, being punished for that same thing.
So I dont I dont know where theyre going, how theyre gonna write it.
But I think youre totally right.
He had a great night and hell punish himself for not being attentive, like for losing himself.
Its kind of the inverse also of Episode 7, where he discovered his passion.
He got lost in his passion to the point where its detrimental to the kitchen.
This time, hes just got lost in work and life caught up to him.
Its just a story of passion.
But for me, I would love to explore that.
The Bearis currently streaming on Hulu.
