Anthony Bourdain biopic in the works with award season darling Dominic Sessa in talks to star

A biopic about beloved late chef Anthony Bourdain – titled Tony – is in the works, with actor Dominic Sessa in talks to play him.

Insiders told Deadline on Monday that Sessa, 21, who garnered plaudits from critics for his work in last year’s The Holdovers, is ‘attached to star’ in the film from Star Thrower Entertainment, as the renowned film company A24 is also in talks to obtain rights to the movie.

Matt Johnson is set to direct the movie, with Lou Howe and Todd Bartels writing the film and a team of producers including executive producer Emily Rose and Star Thrower’s Tim and Trevor White, Deadline reported.

The company Star Thrower has past had success with biopics, including the 2021 film King Richard which received a Best Picture Academy Award nomination, with Will Smith collecting honors for Best Actor.  

It was not immediately clear at which point of Bourdain’s life in which the biopic would be set.

Sessa, 21, who garnered plaudits from critics for last year’s The Holdovers, is ‘attached to star’ in the film. Pictured in February at the Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, California 

Bourdain tragically died of suicide via hanging in June of 2018 in a hotel room at the Le Chambard hotel in Kaysersberg, France. 

The influential and opinionated celeb chef had been in the area making his CNN series Parts Unknown.

Bourdain honed his craft as a chef working in New York City in the 1980s and 1990s, at one point attaining the position of executive chef Brasserie Les Halles.

Bourdain’s profile rose significantly with the 1999 publication of a series of essays in The New Yorker titled Don’t Eat Before Reading This.

He became what Deadline described as ‘an instant star on the media food scene’ for his frank, blunt manner of communication that separated him from his peers.

He went on to host and appear in a number of culinary TV shows, including Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown on CNN; Raw Craft; The Mind of a Chef on PBS; The Taste; and Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on the Travel Channel.

His star continued to rise with the release of his 2000 book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, which blended details of his own life and career with his views on the restaurant business.

In the wake of his death, Bourdain was mourned far and wide, with condolences coming from a number of fans and celebrities he had crossed paths with.

It was not immediately clear at which point of Bourdain’s life in which the biopic would be set. He was pictured in NYC in April of 2018, less than two months before his death 

Bourdain, pictured in 2016 in NYC, hosted and appeared in a number of culinary TV shows, including Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown on CNN; Raw Craft; The Mind of a Chef on PBS; The Taste; and Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on the Travel Channel 

Former President Barack Obama, who appeared with Bourdain on Parts Unknown in 2016, said on Twitter, ‘He taught us about food – but more importantly, about its ability to bring us together. To make us a little less afraid of the unknown. We’ll miss him.’

Fellow celeb chef Jamie Oliver said on Instagram that the death of the culinary innovator left ‘chefs and fans around the world with a massive foodie hole that simply can’t be replaced.’

In the year prior to his passing, Bourdain also gained notoriety for his outspoken criticism of then-President Donald Trump; and his support for women amid the #MeToo movement.

Bourdain’s then-girlfriend, actress Asia Argento, had accused since-convicted producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault.

Bourdain said at the time on Medium, ‘I stand unhesitatingly and unwaveringly with the women.’

Argento said in a tweet following Bourdain’s passing that she was ‘beyond devastated,’ and that the chef’s ‘brilliant, fearless spirit touched and inspired so many, and his generosity knew no bounds.’

Actress Rose McGowan, who also accused Weinstein of sexual assault, said in a clip online, ‘Anthony I am so mad at you – you were so loved, the world is not better without you. I have a message for those considering suicide as a solution to a temporary problem. Please call a hotline.’

In the year prior to his passing, Bourdain also gained notoriety for his outspoken criticism of then-President Donald Trump; and his support for women amid the #MeToo movement. Pictured in 2017 

The chef and TV personality was pictured on Late Night with Seth Meyers in 2017 

Bourdain was father to daughter Ariane Bourdain, 17, with then-wife Ottavia Busia-Bourdain.

In a 2008 interview with the AP, Bourdain had said that his daughter’s birth had changed his outlook on life. ‘I feel obliged to at least do the best I can and not do anything really stupidly self-destructive if I can avoid it,’ he said.

Besides showcasing food, a Parts Unknown also served as a window to the local culture — particularly the parts not overrun by tourists. A trip to Japan in the series’ first season included an odd show with robots and scantily clad women, a visit with a death metal band and a meal shared with a woman involved in the city’s sadomasochistic community.

Bourdain was reluctant to analyze why his series succeeded.

‘If you think about who the audience is and what their expectations might be, I think that’s the road to badness and mediocrity,’ he told the AP. ‘You go out there and show the best story you can as best you can. If it’s interesting to you, hopefully it’s interesting to others. If you don’t make television like that, it’s pandering.’

Bourdain was born in New York City and was raised in Leonia, New Jersey. He had written that his love of food began as a youth while on a family vacation in France, when he ate his first oyster. He was candid about his personal struggles, saying that drug use led to his dropping out of Vassar College after two years.

Working in restaurants led him to the Culinary Institute of America, where he graduated in 1978, and began working in kitchens in New York City. He became executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles in 1998.

In the preface to the latest edition Kitchen Confidential, Bourdain wrote of his shock at the success of his book, which he wrote by getting up at 5 a.m. to steal a couple of hours at the computer before appearing at the saute station for lunch.

He said he never intended to write an expose or to ‘rip the lid off the restaurant business,’ as he said he liked the restaurant business the way it was.

‘What I set out to do was write a book that my fellow cooks would find entertaining and true,’ he said. ‘I wanted it to sound like me talking at say … ten o’clock on a Saturday night, after a busy dinner rush, me and a few cooks hanging around in the kitchen, knocking back a few beers and talking.’

Bourdain said he really had no idea that anyone outside the world of chefs would even pay attention to his comments.

‘The new celebrity chef culture is a remarkable and admittedly annoying phenomenon. While it’s been nothing but good for business – and for me personally – many of us in the life can’t help snickering about it,’ he wrote. ‘Of all the professions, after all, few people are less suited to be suddenly thrown into the public eye than chefs.’

For confidential support in the UK, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit www.samaritans.org for details; In the US call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)