- Dominic Sessa to star as young Bourdain in A24’s Tony
- Bourdain won multiple Emmys for Parts Unknown on CNN
- The former chef rose to fame after Kitchen Confidential was published in 2000
With reports emerging that A24’s Anthony Bourdain biopic is set to start filming next month, it felt like an appropriate time to delve into the backstory of one of the most important travel and culture documentarians the world has ever known.
Dominic Sessa will star as a young Bourdain in Tony, a biopic focused on the late chef’s humble kitchen based beginnings in Provincetown, Massachusetts in 1976. Antonio Banderas has also been cast in an as-yet-unknown role.
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
Bourdain, who spent years jobbing around various kitchens throughout his 20’s, 30’s and early 40’s, eventually shot to prominence after Kitchen Confidential was published, in 2000. The book – an expansion of a 1999 New Yorker article entitled Don’t Read Before Reading This – became a New York Times bestseller and yanked back the curtain on what Bourdain described as ‘the culinary underbelly’.
An instant success, Kitchen Confidential sprung Bourdain to media stardom, via series such as A Cook’s Tour on the Food Network and then No Reservations and The Layover for the Travel Channel. The New York born chef also wrote a further two non fiction bestsellers; A Cook’s Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal (2001) and The Nasty Bits (2006). In 2010 Bourdain would write a follow up to Kitchen Confidential, titled Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook.
Anthony Bourdain : Parts Unknown
Anthony Bourdain reached the peak of his fame with the barnstorming success of his long running CNN series Parts Unknown. The travel and food show ran for 12 seasons between 2013 and 2018. Winning a slew of Emmys and a Peabody Award in the process. Similar to No Reservations, Parts Unknown focused on Bourdain traversing the globe, spotlighting lesser known regions, cultures and cuisines.
The late chef and author would also highlight areas of the United States that would not usually be showcased in travel documentaries, delving into societal issues as well as the food and drink scenes of the areas.
Bourdain’s adventures took him to places such as Myanmar, Paraguay, the Congo, Tanzania, Senegal, Iran, Libya, Ethiopia, Uruguay and lesser known regions of Brazil such as Bahia and Minas Gerais. He also produced episodes on Charleston, Montana, Houston, Detroit, the Mississippi Delta, New Mexico and different parts of Los Angeles and New York.
Trained at the Culinary Institute of America (the tastier CIA), Bourdain graduated in 1978. He went onto work in numerous kitchens, with varying degrees of success, before he landed at Brasserie Les Halles in Manhattan. He was working at Les Halles when he wrote Kitchen Confidential and hung his apron up not long after.
Tony the Roadrunner
Married twice, Anthony Bourdain was involved in a relationship with Italian actress Asia Argento at the time of his death, in 2018. Bourdain was discovered by close friend and Michelin starred chef Eric Ripert. He had hung himself in a hotel room in Strasbourg, France. No note was left. Toxicology reports found no signs of narcotics. He was cremated in France on June 13, 2018. Upon return to the United States, his ashes were given to his brother Christopher.
Bourdain’s life was chronicled in 2021 documentary, Roadrunner. Directed by Morgan Neville, the film garnered controversy over its use of Artificial Intelligence. The technology was used to reproduce Bourdain’s voice for audio clips.
Filming on Tony will begin next month, according to Variety. Matt Johnson is slated to direct. Johnson previously directed critically acclaimed 2023 hit Blackberry.
