Marcus Brooks | |
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Portrayed by | Lionel Boyce |
In-universe information | |
Full name | Marcus Brooks |
Marcus Brooks is a fictional character on the FX Network television series The Bear . Created by Christopher Storer and played by Lionel Boyce since the show's premiere in 2022, Marcus was the bread baker at the Original Beef of Chicagoland sandwich shop under owner Mikey Berzatto (Jon Bernthal). After Mikey's death, his brother Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) took over the restaurant and encouraged Marcus' interest in pastry.
Marcus is a beloved and essential figure at the Berzatto family restaurants. [1] New owner Carmy, in company with his culinary soulmate Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri), is dedicated to nurturing the staff he inherited from his brother; according to one critic, "It isn't a coincidence that Carmy's biological family is portrayed as an acidic, toxic hindrance to his career, and that the [family] he's created for his team—via his network of chefs—is the literal opposite." [2] This impulse to nurture working-class staffers like Marcus, Tina, and Richie and invest in training them in specialized skills distinguishes Carmy and Syd from their more capitalistic or corporatized restaurant executive peers; "The owners and managers (good ones at least) are positive forces of change in their employees lives. The more a business feels safe and familiar, the better chance it has at success." [3]
Carmy sends Marcus to Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark, to train with Chef Luca (Will Poulter), a former colleague of Carmy's at the show's fictionalized three-star version of Chicago's Ever. [2] The training was hugely successful and Marcus was named one of Food & Wine magazine's Best New Chefs within six months of the opening of the Bear restaurant. [4]
Marcus was raised by a single mom; she died of a chronic illness on the evening of the Bear's soft launch. [5] Marcus' stoic but heartfelt eulogy for his mother opens the season three episode "Doors." [6] According to Brooks, during the remainder of the season he seeks "to turn his grief into inspiration." [5] Marcus' father was absent for most of his life but the dad reaches out after the death of Marcus' mom; Marcus and Carmy bond during season four over their absentee fathers and how their work family sometimes fills the gaps of loneliness found in half-empty homes. [7]
Compared to the restaurant's raucous front-of-house manager Richie Jerimovich, who is forever entangled in a shouting match with his cousin Carmy, Marcus has a comparatively quiet, introverted personality. [8] Marcus' fear, confessed at his roommate's ex-boss' wedding, is that he might lose the creative spark that animates his work. [9] Marcus becomes very close with Chef Carmen's sister and the restaurant's business manager, Natalie Berzatto Katinsky, and he is the first person at the restaurant she trusts to hold her new baby Sophie when she comes back to work after maternity leave. [4] Marcus owns and wears a substantial collection of New Balance sneakers. [10]