Dominic Sessa transforms into tragic young Anthony Bourdain in biopic

Daily Mail​

21-06-2025

Dominic Sessa has transformed into Anthony Bourdain while filming scenes for the upcoming biopic Tony earlier this week in Massachusetts.
The actor, 22, could be seen stepping into the shoes of a younger version of the late celebrity chef while on the set of the A24 project in Provincetown on Thursday.
Bourdain was known for starring in shows including the Travel Channel's No Reservations and CNN 's Parts Unknown before his tragic death by suicide in 2018 at the age of 61.
Dominic wore a pair of black flared pants and a red button-up, which was layered with a black leather jacket, befitting of Seventies style.
The actor also sported brown curly hair as he shot scenes on a ferry.
Dominic was seen holding a conversation with another person while leaning against a railing as the ferry slowly moved along the water.
While the official synopsis has remained under wraps, the biopic is set to follow Bourdain's summer in 1976 in Provincetown, where he had his first introduction to the restaurant industry.
In April, it was revealed that Antonio Banderas has also joined the cast, although his role is not yet known.
The movie will be directed by Matt Johnson, with a screenplay by Todd Bartels and Lou Howe.
Bourdain began his career in the food industry while studying at Vassar College and took on jobs at seafood restaurants in Provincetown.
In an interview with Boston Magazine in 2017, the TV personality reflected on his time in the seaside town.
He said: 'It's a very emotional place for me. I came of age there in the early Seventies in a very magical, golden, naive time that I don't think we'll see the likes of again.'
'And I will say being in Provincetown when I was 17… it was predominantly gay, as it still is. It was a time in history of boundless optimism when we really thought anything was possible.
'I think of the people I lived with and worked with and who befriended me then… whatever value system I learned then informed what came later.'
Bourdain further reflected: 'That's where it all started for me. Those were the kitchens that formed my expectations. I thought it was going to be like that forever.'
And while talking to The Guardian that same year, the author talked about his first job as a dishwasher in the Massachusetts town.
He said: 'I only became happy - in fact, intensely satisfied - as a dishwasher at a restaurant in Provincetown in Cape Cod, my first job.'
The late star added that he had been 'a shy, goofy, awkward teenager. But in this blue collar, factory-like environment, there was no blurred line, no grey area, no philosophical question to fret over.
He said: 'Dishes had to go in the washer and come out taintless and doing this swiftly and competently meant I was acknowledged as a human being by colleagues I wanted to be like. The day they promoted me to dunking fries I was overjoyed.'
Anthony had also been candid about his past drug use during his youth, and he later quit heroin in the Eighties.
He had told The Guardian: 'I was an unhappy soul, with a huge heroin and then crack problem.
'I hurt, disappointed and offended many, many, many people and I regret a lot. It's a shame I have to live with.'
He later dropped out of university and graduated for the Culinary Institute Of America in 1978.
The star notably worked as a chef in restaurants in New York City throughout the Eighties and Nineties. He had also been the executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles, beginning in 1998.
Anthony penned a number of books during his career, including as Kitchen Confidential: Adventures In The Culinary Underbelly (2000), which became a New York Times bestseller.
The chef had also written articles for publications such as The New Yorker - which published a popular excerpt of Kitchen Confidential before its publication - The Los Angeles Times, Esquire, and The Independent.
He gained wider recognition due to his television appearances after hosting shows including Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (2005–2012) on the Travel Channel.
The digital series Explore Parts Unknown (2017) garnered the star an Emmy win for Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction Or Reality Series.
Bourdain tragically died by suicide in France at the age of 61 while filming Parts Unknown.