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00:00I worked at Panera Bread for, yeah, I put in a lot of good time there, and I made sure
00:07to tell everyone at Noma about that.
00:09There didn't seem to be the respect that I thought I would get, but being there, yeah,
00:16it's just a place that takes a year to get a table, and at a certain point, Lionel and
00:20I were like, and we're making the food, I would be very upset if I kind of looked up
00:26and I saw a comedian making my meal.
00:56What does the outside linebacker do?
00:58Cover the end and protect the pass.
01:01You loved it.
01:02Yeah, I loved it, and it paid for school, but nowhere really to go after, and four years
01:10ago my mom got sick, so I was trying to find a better job, and I always used to get lunch
01:15at this beef spot, and the owner was, he was really tight, but also really out of his fucking
01:22mind, and he wanted to open a bakery, so I stopped making Big Macs, and I learned how
01:28to make bread, and yeah.
01:31Welcome to Behind the Lens.
01:33Today you all know him from, first of all, his own show, Ramy, which won you Emmy nominations
01:39as a star of that, and as well as directing, and so many other things, including one of
01:45the hottest movies of last season, Poor Things, which I loved, loved, loved that movie, and
01:52that won a ton of Academy Awards, and now you're nominated again for an Emmy, surprisingly
01:58to me, because I didn't know you of the connection, but The Bear, which is amazing.
02:04This is Ramy Youssef.
02:05Welcome.
02:06So good to see you again.
02:07Yeah.
02:08And congratulations.
02:10It's such a gift, and yeah, it's The Bear.
02:13I mean, you know, to get to be involved with it is, it's a gift.
02:17I did not, it's also, too, like guest directing is really a very, I always say it's like being
02:24a surrogate.
02:25Yeah.
02:26Like you kind of show up, they're like, eat this, give birth to it, give it back, you
02:29know, and to get to be part of that process, though, with Chris, who I love, is awesome.
02:34I'm so proud of all of them.
02:35And you're nominated again for directing in a comedy series.
02:39You were nominated for a Director's Guild Award for this as well.
02:42Yeah.
02:44It's a very unique, it's a terrific episode.
02:46It really is.
02:47It takes place mostly in Copenhagen, and you were the only person on this show that isn't
02:55connected with the show, the only outside director they've ever had, other than Christopher
03:01Storer and Janet Carroll, and then also, I believe, Io's.
03:06Io's in the third season, yeah.
03:07Yeah.
03:08That was such a great episode.
03:09But that's unique.
03:10You're the outsider here.
03:11Yes.
03:12How did this happen?
03:14Well, honestly, I think scheduling issues, you know?
03:18Chris couldn't make it to Copenhagen, and he called me and was like, dude, can you go
03:23do this?
03:24Yeah.
03:25And it was really cool.
03:26He really just let me make an episode.
03:29I asked him for some links to see what season two was like, because I think tone changes
03:36between seasons on any of the shows that I like, and he refused.
03:41He said, I'm not going to show you anything.
03:43He said, just go do what you want to do.
03:44Wow.
03:45And it was really a treat, yeah.
03:47So I got to go.
03:48We had a couple of different phases of the trip, but one was me and Lionel went and we
03:54staged it.
03:55Lionel Boyce, who's also nominated, largely because of this episode, I'm going to tell
04:00you.
04:01He's unbelievable, you know?
04:04He's one of the kindest people, one of the sweetest performers, he's so nuanced.
04:09And we got this amazing time just seeing the city, being in Copenhagen, and we got to work
04:13at Noma for a day and be in that kitchen and see what that was like, which was so cool.
04:18Now, you did that as prep or research or stuff?
04:20Yeah, as research.
04:21And you did it as a director and he did it as-
04:24As an actor, yeah.
04:25As an actor, and they let you into this restaurant?
04:27Yeah.
04:28Because that is one of the most exclusive restaurants, not just there, but everywhere.
04:33In the world.
04:34Yeah.
04:35It's, I think, voted the best restaurant in the world several times.
04:38Many times.
04:39And you were there.
04:40And they let us-
04:41They let a degenerate from New Jersey in the kitchen.
04:45And at one point, I think they were like, are you from New Jersey?
04:49You could tell people were doubting it by around lunchtime that I was there.
04:53But we had this awesome experience seeing how the care, the art, the process, it's an
04:58all-day thing to just make a dinner at night, from the early morning, prepping every piece
05:03of it.
05:04And then I also got to hang at Heart Bakery and work there a couple of mornings with that
05:09team, which was really cool.
05:12And for me, being in the new city, we had like, yeah, two, three days of research.
05:17I ended up just staying for two weeks and walked around and just took a bunch of film
05:22photography that we had this really good location scout who saw the photos, photos of random
05:28trees, whatever I took, and then somehow he knew where it was, and then we ended up being
05:32able to shoot there.
05:33So, it was a really cool experience to kind of build out the look, learn the way the kitchens
05:37are there, and kind of spend some time in a city that I love.
05:41I love that.
05:42I just was talking to Steven Zalian, who did Ripley, and he spent all this time location
05:47scouting all through Italy and everything, just with his location production designer
05:53to do exactly what you're talking about, just immerse yourself in this.
05:57But I have to go back to the restaurant, Nomo, for one second.
06:00It takes like maybe a year, two years, to get a reservation there.
06:04So these people are there thinking, you know, whatever.
06:07Did they, when they see you, you know, have you had any restaurant experience before this?
06:13Did you ever?
06:14I worked at Panera Bread for, yeah, I put in a lot of good time there, and I made sure
06:20to tell everyone at Nomo about that.
06:21There didn't seem to be the respect that I thought I would get.
06:26That's great.
06:28But being there, yeah, it's this place that takes a year to get a table.
06:32And at a certain point, Lionel and I were like, and we're making the food?
06:36I would be very upset if I kind of looked up and I, you know, saw a comedian making
06:42my meal.
06:43But, you know, it was cool, too.
06:45As dinner service went on, we plated some stuff, and then little by little, we kind
06:50of just receded to the sideline.
06:53They were like, you know, it got pretty, and again, that intensity was really cool to see
06:57in person, because obviously you see it on a show like The Bear, but then you're in a
07:01kitchen.
07:02And the thing that I think, you know, Lionel captures really well and that you feel in
07:07these restaurants is people really love the act of service.
07:11They really like bringing a plate to someone and watching it make them happy.
07:16And I think that is the driving engine.
07:18And so to be in something like that is really beautiful to see it up close.
07:22So amazing.
07:23And having seen this episode, and of course this goes on in the show, but really in this
07:29episode, I really noticed it.
07:30The loving way you have the camera on food here is just like, makes me want to run and
07:38eat it, which is what happens with these kinds of things.
07:42But it is, that's a key part of what you directed here, was the food.
07:47Yeah, and you know, and it's a big...
07:48These are the desserts.
07:50The desserts were, yeah, and honestly, a big, big, you know, shout out to Courtney Storer,
07:55you know, one of the producers on The Bear, who all of her real restaurant experience
08:01made all of those scenes and makes all those scenes on the show feel so alive, makes that
08:07plating look so elevated and look so real, because, you know, you have a real, it's like
08:12a real chef is working on the show and you can feel it.
08:15And I think that's what's so cool.
08:16Right, exactly.
08:18So what was that experience like in Copenhagen?
08:20Have you ever shot out of this country, or, you know?
08:23Yeah, I've shot a lot in Egypt, I've shot in Spain.
08:28This was my first time shooting, though, in Copenhagen, and it was such a...
08:32Were you using local crews, or?
08:34Yeah, yeah, so we had key crew that we, a couple that we brought over from the States.
08:38Adam Newport-Berra, who is really one of my favorite DPs, and he had shot the pilot of
08:44The Bear, but hasn't been with The Bear since.
08:46He's doing movies and other things, but the schedule kind of aligned where I got to call
08:50him and say, you know, hey, check out these photos I took there, what do you think if
08:54we kind of dug in on this look and did something different?
08:58And he was really excited, and we got to, you know, I'd been wanting to work with him,
09:02so it was really cool to get to do that.
09:04This was cool.
09:05Well, you know, Lionel's fabulous, but, you know, this also introduced Will Holter to
09:11The Bear family, too, and that was a very interesting performance, I thought, and the
09:15way they interacted, and the way he was sort of mentoring him.
09:19Yeah, it was really like, you know, and Will's nature is so different from that character,
09:27you know, and that's such a testament to him as a performer.
09:29I saw Wortha Millers.
09:31You know?
09:32It's like you watch Wortha Millers and you watch him do this, and you go, oh, wow, you
09:36know, how is this the same guy, you know, especially now, you're like, look at this
09:40man, you know?
09:42And he inhabited this guy who's really been weathered by this kitchen experience, and
09:47it was really putting them together, you know, you have this character, Marcus, who has never
09:52left the country before, is looking for something new, and he has this, he's like dripping in
09:57sincerity and curiosity, and then you have this guy who, you know, he has the smallest
10:01flame of that in him, and then you kind of watch, you know, this force come in and just
10:07kind of raise that flame of curiosity and love for it again, and you see him kind of
10:13wake up, you know, and I think getting to build that over that scene was really cool,
10:19and you know, again, I think that guest directing, there's only so little you can do.
10:23I have nothing to do with the script, I have nothing to do with the tone of how great this
10:26show is, but you kind of come in and you say, you know, what could this particular episode
10:31use, and you know, Chris and I worked together on Rami.
10:35That I knew.
10:36Yeah.
10:37Yeah, and we've known each other for many years, and I think one of the things we talked
10:40about when we were making Rami was how do we show prayer on screen in a way that feels
10:44genuine that I felt I hadn't seen in film and TV, separate from kind of, you know, whatever
10:50the noise of organized religion, and I think when we talked about this episode, we really
10:56similarly said, you know, this is, we're taking it away from the organized chaos of this Chicago
11:02kitchen, and we're kind of throwing him just with the prayer, just with the baking, just
11:07with that one piece, and it feels kind of like this monastic thing, and so to get to
11:13try to kind of put that in, you know, with them, and again, you put something together
11:17for the showrunner, and they're going to go in and they're going to make sure it matches
11:20the rest of the show, so I kind of, in knowing that, I kind of, I think I delivered the episode
11:26to Chris long, and I think, I think I might have even delivered him that kitchen scene
11:32as a one-er. Maybe there was one cut, but I think it was long. Knowing he was going
11:37to chop it up, but knowing that, you know, if that intent could be there, you know, and
11:43allowing that to kind of bleed into the rest of what they were doing, and you know, again,
11:49it was just, it's so, I felt like a line cook for chef, store, you know, where he was like
11:57do this, and I got to do it, and I got to try a few things, and then he kind of put
12:02it in this, what I think is just this amazing season, you know.
12:05But there were also so many other touches outside of the kitchen there, where you're,
12:10he's wandering through the city, and it's very poetic, I thought, the way it was shot.
12:14It looks like he's the only person in the world there, and also a scene where he comes
12:19upon a guy that looks like he's down and out, and it's a brief encounter, but it's very
12:25effective.
12:26Yeah, you know, the, that's where getting to scout the city and take these, you know,
12:31film photos throughout was really helpful for what we ended up shooting, because we
12:35kind of, Adam and I were able to talk about the language, you know, really in advance
12:39of how that was, and then I think the moment with the bike, you know, again, another conversation
12:45I had with Chris about that season in general, but really about this episode, you know, it's
12:50like service industry, and this episode is just the service part, you know, we're stripping
12:56the industry piece out of the bear, and just focusing on the service.
13:02And so this moment with this guy on the bike is just the ultimate act of service, and it's
13:05on his way back from learning how to serve people better, he then serves someone, you
13:09know, in a totally different way, and nothing bad happens, nothing even particularly plot-driven
13:16happens, it's just an extension of the service that this character has, and I think that's
13:20why the moment's effective, and I think, you know, even when I saw it in the script, I
13:24talked about it with Chris a little bit, you know, because I said to him, so, nothing else
13:29is gonna happen, you know, and he said, no, and I was like, really, and he's like, yeah,
13:33and then I kind of walked around, and then I called him and I said, okay, yeah, I get
13:38it, and then I, you know, again, that was where we did it was a location that I had
13:45found in the two weeks of walking around, and I kind of then said, okay, what if it
13:51kind of looked like this, and what if it was like this, and we kind of wanted to create
13:54a believable predicament, you know, for this moment, so it was such a fun process, yeah.
14:00That's amazing, well, you're becoming a force behind the scenes as well as, you know, in
14:03front, and it seems to me you're a natural in so many ways, you executive produced Melt,
14:11and that won a Peabody Award, you know, and a lot of talk on that one, it's a terrific
14:17show. And I'm really, you know, we just kind of actually today, I think, locking the last
14:23episode of the second season, which I'm so excited, you know, for people to see, but,
14:28you know, I think even in, you know, we pitched Mo while making Rami, you know, we actually
14:33wrote the Mo pilot, Mo and I, like, you know, in like two weeks between, you know, Rami
14:40seasons, and even in making the show, you know, on Hulu, I, by the third season, I think
14:47I'm only in like half the episodes, because I have so much fun writing for actors that
14:51I really like, and getting to kind of put together, you know, a whole season, and put
14:56together a whole arc, and to get to, you know, visually tell that too, so it's been, it was
15:00really cool to kind of come in to this show, where I have this, you know, truly like brotherhood
15:06with Chris, I mean, we started directing on Rami, right, I fought for Chris Storer to
15:10direct the Rami pilot, and they were like, this guy has no narrative experience, he's
15:13only done a documentary, and he's only produced a film, no way, you know, and then we both
15:18got our shot at directing in the first season, you know, and then Chris goes on to make The
15:22Bear, and then by the end of, you know, the third season, I think I did like seven of
15:27the third season, you know, so we got to, and obviously Mo on that show, and Mae Kalamawi,
15:32and so many great actors, you know, Hiawatha Bass on Succession, it was really this like,
15:38you know, this playground for so many people who, you know, I continue to work with, and
15:43really appreciate their work, and so to get to see Chris create his own playground, and
15:47it's one of the biggest, best shows of the decade, is crazy.
15:51Yeah, 23 nominations, this time at 110 in its first season, what do you think, you know,
15:56they talk about it, and it's in the comedy category, but I think it's hard to categorize,
16:00you know, and I hesitate to say it's a comedy series, like others are, it's not, it is what
16:08it wants to be, but it's there, but how do you look at it, you know, when you look at
16:13it?
16:14I mean, I look at it as, you know, it's so character driven, I mean, to me, this is like
16:18the best cast on TV, in terms of their chemistry, and how they feel, and I think everyone who
16:24likes the show remembers the feeling of watching the pilot, and just viscerally saying, that's
16:29a real kitchen.
16:30Yeah.
16:31Like, just, that's a real kitchen, you know, and you feel that, and I think that's what's
16:36so exciting about it, yeah, the comedy characters, I don't know, you know, I mean, like, it's
16:39like people, you know, you put it next to, like, 30 Rock, and it's, yeah, it's like,
16:43it's a horror, it's a horror, you know, compared to 30 Rock, but, you know, I do think that,
16:48you know, there's a levity, and yeah, I don't know too much about how things are picked,
16:53I just know that what people are gravitating towards is, you know, the quality, and I really
16:59think, you know, the characters in this world that Chris has built.
17:02Yeah, I asked the heads of the Academy when the nominations came up, and asked them that
17:06question, and they said, you know what?
17:08We believe in what the creators believe, and if the creators tell us that it's a comedy,
17:13it's a dramedy, it's whatever label you want to put on it, we're going to let them do that.
17:18Cool.
17:19And I think that's it, the way we categorize everything has sort of gone by the wayside.
17:24Yeah, yeah.
17:25You know?
17:26Yeah.
17:27And clearly, the stuff you're doing, you just did an animated series.
17:28Yeah, we have an animated series coming out on Amazon next year, it's called Number One
17:32Happy Family USA.
17:33Happy Family.
17:34Yes, and it is like, totally, yeah, again, I think if you put it next to what we did
17:40on Rami, Rami looks like pure drama, you know, it's just like, going for the jokes, and,
17:45you know, and, you know, I'm so excited about that.
17:48But it's got a Muslim family, right?
17:49Yeah, it is, yeah, but it's, you know, it's totally in a very bizarro world, and, you
17:56know, they realize that they might not be welcome in their neighborhood, and so, in
18:00the way only animation could, they look different when they're inside the house, and when they're
18:04outside the house.
18:05Oh, wow.
18:06They literally change their appearance, and change how they act.
18:10It's like code switching to a 10 throughout the series, and again, doing things you could
18:15only do in that format, and so I think that's what's, I gravitate towards, you know, that
18:20in any project, you know, that I'm kind of jumping into, is what could only this project
18:25do, you know?
18:26Right.
18:27So, to do this on the bear was a really, really fun example of, you know, yeah, I could never
18:31do this on anything else that I worked on, and then, you know, you get to step into this
18:35world, and give it just a little something.
18:37And do it, which is great, because you're adding so much to, you know, the conversation,
18:44I think, and you're showing people a different side that they don't normally see on television.
18:50Yeah, yeah, and again, such a testament to Chris and that team.
18:55You know, they've made something that I think really has affected people.
19:00Now, we've dragged you away from the writer's room, where you're working on, with Will Ferrell?
19:06Yeah, working on a new show with Will Ferrell, and my buddy Josh Rabinowitz, who's worked
19:11with me on Rami, and on Number One Happy Family, and so, yeah, we're making this show with
19:18Netflix, and it's been a dream.
19:20What's that one?
19:22All I can say is it's set in the world of golf, but I think, in a way that, in a cool
19:28way, there's all this golf stuff coming out that I've been really excited about, because
19:32I love the slice of, like, looking at this sport that has had a few pop culture moments,
19:37but I think is entering, like, a really cool one, but I think we're kind of going at it
19:42from a much different vantage point.
19:47And then with Will Ferrell, who is just, I mean, every day I can't even, you know,
19:52I just can't believe I'm getting to work with him, and he's really, like, the kindest guy,
19:57and smart, and in so many ways that, you know, it makes sense that he has the career he has
20:02when you sit with him, because you go, oh, wow, you really look at the whole picture,
20:06you know, from, you know, the producorial piece, to the writing, to the acting, and
20:11so.
20:12I was going to say that.
20:13A lot of people don't look at him as a producer.
20:14He's an amazing producer.
20:15He's thrown his hand in so much of the stuff he does, and other people, that they don't
20:19realize.
20:20No, they don't realize, and it's not an accident, it's not some sort of performer vanity thing.
20:25He kind of can read something and go, what's going on over there?
20:28Right away, there's a problem over here, and you go, oh, wow, yeah, there is.
20:31And so that's been just a joy, yeah.
20:34Wow.
20:35And I have to ask you, I mentioned Poor Things, but that looked like such a fun shoot.
20:39I don't know if it was fun, or it just came out to look that way.
20:42It was more fun than it looked.
20:44It actually, which is the rarest thing, it actually, it was so much fun.
20:50I don't think, I think between Willem, and Mark, and Emily, and Yorgos, it's such a,
20:57it was a dream.
20:58Honestly, for me, I have never done a film where, I've never really done a film.
21:04I've done kind of little bit things here and there, to get to go and do this thing, and
21:08be in this world, and with a director who, his pure vision and confidence, it's kind
21:15of impossible to not, it's infectious.
21:18You just see that, and you realize, yeah, you can do this job with a lot of integrity,
21:24and you can do this job, and treat people well, while still making something that is
21:29bold, and you feel it too, again, with Willem, and Mark, and Emily, people at the top of
21:35their game, who are, truly know everyone's name on set.
21:38It's that thing, it's just know everyone's name, so kind, and bring their best work.
21:45Mark kept saying, I did an interview like this with Mark, during the movie season, and
21:50he kept saying, when he was making it, he says, I don't know if I've made the biggest
21:53mistake in my life, because I don't know if this works, it's going for something, and
21:57it, you know, you're dealing with the insecurity, you know, that a lot of performers always
22:02take with them, they're the best, they're the best when they think that way.
22:05But he didn't know.
22:06No, he was talking to me, and like, leaning on me, and I was like, dude, I'm trying to,
22:11I thought I was going to lean on you.
22:13We do a scene, and he's like, dude, do you think I'm going to get fired?
22:17I was like, I don't think so, do you think I am?
22:19And he's like, no, you're great, you're great, and you go, wow.
22:24That's so funny.
22:25So funny.
22:26Yeah, but that was great, and Amos goes on to win an Oscar, you know.
22:31So deserved.
22:32And everything, yeah.
22:33It's really cool.
22:34Well, gosh, I can't keep up with you.
22:36Everything you're doing, I can't wait to see all of it.
22:38We've got the Will Ferrell Show, we've got the Happy Family, you know, and if you haven't
22:43seen The Bear, this episode's called Honeydew, it's nominated for an Emmy, and several Emmys,
22:49a lot of Emmys for this show, and both actors in it, including Will Poulter, have Emmy nominations
22:55too.
22:56Yeah.
22:57Congratulations, man.
22:58Thanks so much, man.
22:59Thanks for joining us on Behind the Lens.
23:00Yeah, I appreciate it.
23:01Thank you, man.