Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri formed a strong friendship while working on The Bear.
The costars met on set in 2022 while filming the FX series, which follows a chef named Carmy (White) as he returns to Chicago to run his older brother Mikey’s restaurant following his death. Edebiri, meanwhile, plays Carmy’s coworker and eventual friend Sydney, who joins him on his journey to open a successful restaurant.
“We wanted to make something that was about friendship and a partnership,” creator Christopher Storer told Variety in January 2023 about fan interest in the onscreen bond between Carmy and Sydney. “It really is so funny that that is one of the things that people took away — of all the heavy s–t that’s going on in the show! It was interesting because Ayo and Jeremy, since they are our friends and are such wonderful people, I think there is this charisma that comes off both of them.”
Since season 1, fans have pointed out the chemistry between Carmy and Sydney. The cast, however, has yet to be swayed on the idea of a romance between the duo.
“I think when we were making it, neither of us were thinking about that,” Edebiri exclusively told Us Weekly in January 2023. “It did feel really nice to get to do something that felt different. There aren’t that many platonic male [and] female relationships.”
White has publicly sided with Edebiri on the topic despite the handful of charged moments between their characters in season 2.
“They’re trying to create this thing that’s very difficult to create. Of course there is love and respect in this relationship. There’s admiration and I hope that even in platonic relationships, you are able to say things like, ‘I need you,’” White told Variety in June 2023 about the emotional scenes between the pair. “When they speak to each other under the table in episode 9, it’s such a beautiful scene. It is a scene about partnership, but not a romantic partner. Syd and Carmy do things for one another. She is a source of peace and focus for him and, at times, he can be a source of inspiration and dependability. Sometimes he can’t.”
Scroll down to relive White and Edebiri’s sweetest offscreen friendship moments: