Collider’s Christina Radish recently sat down with Bernthal and his “Gary” co-star, Ebon Moss-Bacharach, to chat about the new special episode of The Bear. In addition to starring in the new episode, Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bacharach also co-wrote the special together, and Bernthal even penned The Punisher special coming soon to Disney+. When Radish asked when “Gary” was filmed, Moss-Bachrach jokingly chimed in and said, “We shot this during The Punisher Season 1. This was supposed to be part of the first season of Punisher on Netflix.” Fans will recall The Punisher Season 1, where Bernthal and Moss-Bachrach featured heavily alongside each other as Frank Castle and David Lieberman. Continuing, Moss-Bachrach told Collider:
“No. This was always meant as a standalone little featurette, or whatever the parlance of the time, but we never really knew where it was going to get placed. That is above us. I really liked where it wound up, in its own little thing, a month before Season 5. It feels really exciting and smart, given the context of things in Season 5 and what happens. But, it was always intended as its own little memory piece.”
Radish then asked Bernthal which project he wrote first, and if working on one helped him get the ideas flowing when it came time to write the other. Bernthal told Collider, “Maybe this one was first,” referring to The Bear’s “Gary” episode. Continuing, he said, “They were very different processes. This was all joy, all gas, all go. Ebon and I know each other very well. We’re very, very dear friends. I trust him so much as an artist, and his taste. From the beginning, when Chris [Storer] encouraged us to do this, we were pinching ourselves. We were so excited, I’ve said it before, but the things that I’ve been most proud of in my career, strangely, are the things that have come the easiest.” Bernthal went on to further drive home how his relationship with Moss-Bachrach made working on “Gary” a complete breeze:
“The actual doing of this has been this real free flow of creativity and there haven’t been blocks or struggles. I never felt like there was a deadline that we needed to reach. We knew exactly what we wanted to do with this, and it was all ‘yes, and’ additive. We finish each other’s sentences. Ebon really knew what was important to me, I knew what was important to Ebon, and we really were on the same page. Writing it was a joy. We really just threw it back and forth, and as soon as we had something, we took it to Chris, and it was go, go, go. I don’t think we ever really hit any bumps in the road. What we wrote is what you got.”
Collider Exclusive · Marvel Personality Quiz Which MCU Hero Are You? Spider-Man · Daredevil · Iron Man · Punisher · Thor · Cap
Six heroes. One destiny. Answer 10 questions to discover which Marvel Cinematic Universe hero shares your personality, values, and fighting spirit. Will you swing, fly, or thunder your way to glory?
🕷️Spider-Man
😈Daredevil
🤖Iron Man
💀Punisher
⚡Thor
🛡️Cap
01
What drives you to do what’s right? Choose the answer that feels most like you.
02
It’s 2 AM. Where are you? Your answer says more about you than you’d think.
03
How do you handle a villain who keeps escaping justice? Every hero has a method. What’s yours?
04
How do you feel about keeping a secret identity? The mask — or the lack of one — says everything.
05
You’ve lost someone important because of your heroism. How do you carry that? Every hero pays a price. The question is how they pay it.
06
What’s your role when working with a team? Who you are under pressure is who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line between justice and revenge? The answer defines what kind of hero you really are.
08
When you’re not saving the world, what does life look like? The person behind the mask is always the more interesting story.
09
What keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
10
The battle is lost. You’re outnumbered, outgunned, and exhausted. What do you do? This is your tiebreaker — choose carefully.
Your Hero Has Been Identified Your MCU Hero Is…
Based on your answers, the Marvel hero who matches your spirit, values, and instincts has been revealed.
Queens, New York
🕷️ Spider-Man
You carry the weight of the world on shoulders that are younger than they should have to be — funny, loyal, and endlessly self-sacrificing.
You do the right thing not because it’s easy, but because no one else will.
You understand that responsibility isn’t a burden you choose — it’s one that finds you.
Whether it’s a neighbourhood mugging or a multiverse crisis, you show up.
Peter Parker’s lesson — that great power demands great responsibility — isn’t a slogan to you. It’s the code you live by, even when it costs you everything.
Hell’s Kitchen, New York
😈 Daredevil
You fight in the shadows between law and chaos, guided by a fierce moral compass that refuses to let the guilty walk free.
You use every tool available — your mind, your body, your faith — to protect those the system overlooks.
You’ve looked into the darkness and chosen not to become it, though the line has never been easy.
Matt Murdock’s duality — champion in the courtroom, devil in the alley — mirrors your own.
Relentless, conflicted, and unwilling to stop. That is exactly you.
Stark Industries, Malibu
🤖 Iron Man
Brilliant, driven, and occasionally insufferable — but always the person who solves the unsolvable problem.
You lead with your mind and back it up with resources, innovation, and a stubbornness that borders on heroic.
You started out looking out for yourself, but somewhere along the way the world became your responsibility.
Tony Stark’s arc — from ego to sacrifice — is your arc too.
You build, you plan, and when the moment comes, you’re willing to give everything. Because in the end, you’re Iron Man.
New York City
💀 The Punisher
You’ve been through fire that would break most people — and it did change you, completely. What’s left is unyielding, relentless, and operating by a code forged in grief.
You don’t ask for forgiveness, and you don’t expect gratitude.
You see a corrupt, broken world and you’ve decided to do something about it, consequences be damned.
Frank Castle’s war is born from love twisted by loss — and so is yours.
Uncompromising and unflinching — the world may not agree with your methods, but your conviction is absolute.
Asgard · Protector of the Nine Realms
⚡ Thor
Powerful, proud, and on a lifelong journey to become worthy of the legend you carry.
You lead with strength but have learned — sometimes painfully — that true greatness comes from humility and growth.
You’re larger than life, yet more vulnerable than you let on.
Thor’s story is one of transformation: from arrogant prince to worthy king, from isolated warrior to beloved protector.
You bring the storm when it’s needed — and the warmth when it matters just as much.
Brooklyn, New York · The Avengers
🛡️ Captain America
You believe in something bigger than yourself — and you fight for it even when the world has moved on and nobody else will.
You don’t bully the small guy, and you never stop when it gets hard.
Steve Rogers didn’t become a hero when he got the serum — he was always one. So were you.
Your strength isn’t in your fists; it’s in your refusal to compromise what’s right, no matter the cost.
In a world full of people taking the easy road, you’re the one who picks up the shield and stands up — every single time.
How Involved Was ’The Bear’s Chris Storer When It Came to Writing “Gary?”
While Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach co-wrote the new episode of The Bear, series creator and tenured director Chris Storer directed the episode. Storer has directed 29 episodes of The Bear, and his co-creator, Joanna Calo, has directed six. When Radish asked if Bernthal or Moss-Bachrach got any notes or feedback from Storer that amplified what they had on the page, Moss-Bachrach chimed in and said, “We’d be fools not to use him,” referring to the four-time Emmy winner.
Continuing, he told Collider, “He’s such a great writer. But he was very hands-off. We gave him a draft, and he had a couple of notes, but not many. We talked about a lot of things with Chris. And then, over the week of shooting it, there was a lot of discussion on the day, and maybe just changing some things.” He also revealed that one print that Storer left in the special may just be Moss-Bachrach’s favorite moment of the entire series:
“Chris, on the day, broke what’s maybe my favorite scene in the entire episode, which is Mikey and Richie talking about different kinds of kicks in the parking lot behind the bodega. They’re talking about the crescent kick on the side kick. Chris said, ‘Okay, maybe for this, you guys are just sipping your beers, and you’re talking about different styles of kicks,’ and I loved that. It was such a great 12-year-old conversation to have.”
Check out the new Bear special episode, “Gary,” now streaming on Hulu, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of The Punisher: One Last Kill.
