SPOILER ALERT – Do not read ahead if you haven’t watched the new season of The Bear!
Abby Elliott is dishing on season four of The Bear!
The new season of the Emmy-winning series was just released on Hulu and FX a few weeks ago and now in a new interview, the 38-year-old actress, Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto, has revealed that a Vanderpump Rules star was considered for a guest role.
Keep reading to find out more…In season four, Brie Larson made her debut as Francie Fak, a friend from Natalie’s past that she had a falling out with.
When the character of Francie was first introduced in season three, Abby revealed Stassi Schroeder was initially considered to play her.
“[The Bear creator] Chris Storer and I have been having conversations about this since season 2, when the concept of Francie first gets introduced. We were like, ‘Who is she?’” Abby recalled to Elle.
“We talked about Stassi from Vanderpump Rules. And we were like, ‘I think she’s kind of like Stassi,’” she continued. “Then, I think it was between seasons 2 and 3, I was at the L.A. Natural History Museum, and I saw Stassi. I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ I was so embarrassed because my kid was having a tantrum and her kid was so well-behaved, and [Chris] was like, ‘This is perfect. This is so Natalie and Francie.’”
Ultimately, Stassi, 37, didn’t join the show and Brie, 35, ended up playing Francie.
“When Brie stepped in, it made it all the more perfect. We really hit it off,” Abby shared. “I think we’re pretty similar, and she’s so funny. I love her. We were simpatico from the start, which was so much fun to play. And even though we do, sort of, find out [the source of Natalie and Francie’s feud], it’s still a little unclear!”
Season 3 built up a reunion for Natalie and Francie after their falling out, and when they finally came face to face in the new season, it still remains unclear what actually led to their falling out. However, the two did hint at a romantic past before acknowledging that they missed each other and decided to resume their friendship.
“Another thing that Chris and I talked about: I was watching a reality show with all these women at this wedding in those Hill House nap dresses,” Abby explained. “And I was like, ‘It’d be so funny if [Francie and Natalie] are going at each other in these Little-Bo-Peep pastel dresses.’ So we tried to do that with the wardrobe in episode 7. She’s wearing a headband and I’m wearing a headband.”
She continued, “Everything’s very cute, and then we’re going into this dark drunken backstory. It was my favorite thing to shoot. That episode felt so much like My Best Friend’s Wedding and The Wedding Singer and all of those kind of ’90s/2000s movies that you watch and you’re like, ‘Oh, I wish I was at that wedding.’”
“There was a scene in My Best Friend’s Wedding, which takes place in Chicago, and [Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz] are in the bathroom at Wrigley Field,” Abby noted. “Cameron’s wearing a little headband and she’s in pastel, and she goes off on Julia’s character. I kept watching that scene before [filming the episode] to really get me into it. So much goes down at weddings. It’s such a perfect backdrop for drama and comedy.”
