Antonio Banderas Joins Anthony Bourdain Biopic Tony

Antonio Banderas has joined the cast of ‘Tony’, the upcoming biopic that explores the formative years of late chef, author, and television personality Anthony Bourdain. Directed by Matt Johnson, the film stars The Holdovers actor Dominic Sessa as Bourdain and is scheduled for release in August.

The film takes viewers behind the scenes on the movie, which is set during the summer of 1975 when Bourdain (who took his own life at the age of 61 in 2018) was cutting his cooking teeth in a Provincetown dive.

© A24

In a new interview with Johnson, the filmmaker says, “Bourdain looks at his young life and he thinks, ‘I was a p**** who really needed to get my a** kicked.’  

This movie is trying to be that a** kicking.”

Sessa added, “The movie captures the moment he discovers he has a passion for food and makes the decision that it’s going to be a part of his life.”

© Owen Hoffmann

Cast and Creative Team

Following his breakout role in The Holdovers that earned him an Independent Spirit Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, Sessa adds to credits including Now You See Me: Now You Don’t with the lead role in Tony.

The 23-year-old star will be joined in the cast by Antonio Banderas, Emilia Jones, Leo Woodall and Stavros Halkias.

© A24

Johnson is directing from a script originally written by Todd Bartels and Lou Howe as he makes a return to the genre that he previously explored with the 2023 film BlackBerry.

The Plot

Tony is seemingly avoiding a major pitfall of biopics by setting the story during a contained period of the chef’s life.

© Jamie McCarthy

As the trailer shows, the movie follows a young Bourdain as he struggles in his attempts to become a writer and discovers professional cooking during a summer in Provincetown.

Watch the trailer

Awards Chances

A late-summer release for Tony has the potential to carry it into the fall movie conversation and potentially awards season should word-of-mouth be strong enough.

The movie’s high-calibre cast and acclaimed directing skills of Johnson mean that the project’s chances of winning awards should not be dismissed.