Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past month, there’s a good chance you’ve heard talk about FX/Hulu’s most recent breakout television series, The Bear. Starring Shameless’ Jeremy Allen White, the show takes a look at the story of what happens when a gifted young chef from the world of fine dining comes home to Chicago to run his family’s Italian beef sandwich shop.
A black comedy, The Bear deals with the behind-the-scenes chaos of running a kitchen and owning a restaurant, as well as the grief and coping that comes with losing a loved one. It’s arguably one of the best shows on television in 2022 and is filled with plenty of great references and inside jokes for anyone that’s ever worked in a restaurant.
What’s even more interesting than all of the back-of-house stuff that goes on is an interesting, possibly uncredited, voice you can hear during Episode 8, Braciole. If you listen closely while Neil Fak (Matty Matheson) talks to the Ball Breaker machine, you’ll hear a familiar voice: Paul Rudd.
In the conversation, Rudd plays a video game character that Fak is talking to (in a made-up conversation in his head, taking place at the 31: 34 mark), where he asks him if he ever feels sad. His character says, “Of course I do, but I don’t talk about it. I keep it all inside. It helps me beat the shit out of people.”
While there hasn’t been anything to confirm regarding the cameo, it seems pretty hard to deny that Paul Rudd was the voice of the video game character Fak is talking to in the Machine. Considering the star power The Bear was already able to pull in, including fellow Marvel actor Jon Bernthal (The Punisher), the idea doesn’t seem too far-fetched.
What do you think? Was that really Paul Rudd in The Bear’s final episode of Season 1? Be sure to let us know in the comment section below.