Ebon Moss-Bachrach Recalls Working with Gene Hackman on ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’: ‘He’s a Pro. He Didn’t Really Rehearse’

Ebon Moss-Bachrach may soon be a household name due to his standout supporting role as Richie Jerimovich on the hit FX (for Hulu) television series “The Bear.” And if that doesn’t do it, perhaps his recently announced casting as Ben Grimm aka The Thing in Marvel’s film version of “The Fantastic Four” will.

Of course, there are some who have been all-in on Moss-Bachrach since his performance as Desi on HBO’s “Girls.” Those playing catchup on his career should perhaps start with an even-earlier role that stands out for many now in retrospect — a brief appearance as Frederick the bellboy in Wes Anderson’s “The Royal Tenenbaums.” With a mop of floppy curls under a round hotel cap, Moss-Bachrach was only 23 at the time of filming, but held his own against scene partner and legendary screen actor Gene Hackman.

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“He’s a pro,” said Moss-Bachrach of Hackman during a profile in GQ. “He didn’t really rehearse. The guy who had been his stand-in for, I think decades at that point, had a Gene Hackman–esque kind of personality — at some point, he looks at me and goes, ‘I fucking hate shooting in New York. There’s no decent restaurants in this fucking town.’”

Part of the reason why Moss-Bachrach was able to take part in the film is because he maintained his ties to his home city, studying and starting his career in New York.

“I never moved to LA,” he said. “Always New York. I always stayed pretty involved in doing plays. I was here for a pretty exciting period of New York cinema. I always made enough money to get by. I didn’t feel so strongly about getting rich and famous or anything. It’s nice to be getting more recognition now, but I was never asking when it was going to be my turn.”

Well, whenever Moss-Bachrach has gotten a turn in front of the camera or on stage, he never takes it for granted. Remembering his involvement on “Girls,” co-producer and co-showrunner Jenni Konner said, “Ebon brought so much invention to Desi. He’s truly one of the funniest people I’ve ever met, as funny as any comedy writer I’ve ever worked with, and he’s also really easy on the eyes. It was a little bit like finding a unicorn.”

Though the description tracks, Moss-Bachrach doesn’t want to be hyped up too much. In registering his star being on the rise, he said, “It’s a vague sort of thing. At what point are you allowed to say you’re an actor? I had bad years where I didn’t work much early on. There was a year when I worked one day. And I was like, Am I still allowed to call myself an actor?”

With a Critic’s Choice Award and Emmy now in the bag for his work on “The Bear,” it definitely seems like people are noticing Moss-Bachrach’s talent, but he hopes his identity — both as a person and an actor — ultimately doesn’t become tied to Cousin Richie.

“When the job is done,” Moss-Bachrach said, referencing whenever “The Bear” concludes, “I’ll mourn the loss of working with the people I work with, in this very sort of ideal, beautiful work environment. I hope I’m not taking Richie on a tour, like hitting Branson, Missouri, on ‘The Bear’ Bus Experience.”

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