Dominic Sessa in talks to travel to parts unknown for Anthony Bourdain biopic

By the time the world discovered Dominic Sessa, it was too late for him to play his real celebrity doppelgänger (well, bigger celebrity doppelgänger), Bob Dylan. That honor, of course, went to Timothée Chalamet, who’s getting tangled up in blue (and singing it himself!) for James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown, out in theaters December 25. However, Hollywood isn’t squandering the fact that a man who is clearly meant to live in the mid-20th century just wandered into their midst. According to Deadline, the Holdovers actor is now in talks to play late culinary icon Anthony Bourdain in a new biopic called Tony. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, A24 is also currently in talks to acquire the package. Like every other major studio these days, they’ve fully jumped onto the biopic bandwagon with films like Priscilla and The Iron Claw. Blackberry’s Matt Johnson is set to direct from a script penned by Lou Howe and Todd Bartels.

While Bourdain hardly needs an introduction, he did live so many lives during his restaurant days, through writing, and eventually in the spotlight with No Reservations, Parts Unknown, and more, that his story seems almost too-easy biopic fodder—even for anyone who may have known him from his public persona. It’s unknown what part of the chef’s life the film will focus on, but there really is so much to discuss—from his rise, to his advocacy, to his persistent championing of small, family-run establishments, to his indelible impact on the culinary scene, and more.

This won’t be the first film about Anthony Bourdain. In 2021, Focus Features released Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, a documentary Katie Rife said “both dispels and reinforces the myth of Anthony Bourdain” in her review for The A.V. Club. Interestingly, Adult Swim is also taking a bite with the upcoming Get Jiro!, a series based on a graphic novel that Bourdain co-authored. In 2022, an unauthorized biography of the late chef called Down and Out in Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain was also released but was quickly denounced by his family and friends. They are presumably on board with Tony.