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'The Bear' Just Proved That the Show's Greatest Guest Star of All Time Is This Iconic Actress
Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for The Bear Season 4.
Over the last four seasons, The Bear has quickly become synonymous with guest stars, with each new batch of episodes bringing in new A-listers to play extended family members or restaurant staff. However, the return of Jamie Lee Curtis as troubled Berzatto matriarch Donna in Season 4 cements the reality that she is the only guest star who ever mattered. Curtis has brought out her character’s nuances with every new appearance, despite only ever appearing in a handful of episodes, which in turn provides significant context to the different behaviors of the Berzatto children. However, Season 4 gives more insight into Donna’s mindset, and her narrative arc becomes much more complex than at first glance.
Curtis may have already won an Emmy for her work on The Bear, but her appearance in the penultimate episode of Season 4 is easily her best performance on the show. She conveys a totally different side to Donna compared to the erraticism seen in “Fishes,” while also retaining that believability that this is the same woman who once drove her car through a wall. Her control in ensuring this balance is evidence enough that she is leagues above any other guest star in The Bear’s short history.
Jamie Lee Curtis’ First Appearance in ‘The Bear’ Is Purposefully Chaotic
The first physical introduction of Donna Berzatto comes in one of The Bear’s most acclaimed episodes, “Fishes.” The hour-long installment is packed full of guest stars, including Bob Odenkirk, John Mulaney, and Sarah Paulson, yet it’s Curtis who makes the biggest impression as the head of the Berzatto family. Throughout, Donna is frantically preparing the intricate feast of the seven fishes, getting increasingly stressed over the idea of perfection. It can be inferred that she struggles with alcoholism, as family members are seen tipping drinks down the sink. This culminates in the stress piling up, with Donna feeling like no one respects what she is doing, causing her to crack and drive her car into the side of the house.
The end of Season 2 shows a more bittersweet side to Donna, as she bumps into Pete (Chris Witaske) outside The Bear on opening day. Although Pete half-heartedly attempts to get her inside, she admits she doesn’t feel worthy of seeing her children’s successes. Through her performance, Curtis reveals that Donna’s volatility is a result of the pressure she places on herself to be a good mother, and this slip indicates the sense of failure she feels. It is heartbreaking to see that the barriers she faces are actually self-enforced, and Curtis’ reserved tone when speaking to Pete evidences this inner feeling of reservation.
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Season 3 begins to unpack more layers of Donna as Natalie (Abby Elliott) reaches out to her after going into labor, especially since she isn’t able to get in touch with anyone else. The intimacy of the moment allows Donna to help her daughter, and Curtis shows how measured her character can be in times of crisis, which is a total contrast to her previous appearances. This sense of comfort gives Nat the freedom to open up about how she and her brothers felt scared of Donna’s erratic tendencies, admitting she didn’t want her daughter to experience that feeling. Although it doesn’t immediately restore the relationship, their time together lets Donna back into her daughter’s life as Nat later sends her updates on her grandchild. Through this brief appearance, Curtis highlights Donna’s desire to heal and fix her broken family dynamic.
‘The Bear’ Season 4 Showcases Jamie Lee Curtis’ Best Performance
After fixing her relationship with Nat, Donna’s narrative arc in Season 4 centers on her relationship with Carmy (Jeremy Allen White). Their first interaction at the wedding is cold and awkward, showing that neither really knows how to speak to each other. It takes Carmy visiting his mother to finally allow them to have an open conversation, but this is also where Curtis shows her deep understanding of Donna’s psyche, giving an extremely heartbreaking performance.
Initially, Donna is a more muted version of what has been seen before, sitting with a cigarette in hand as she flicks through old family photos and jokingly criticizes them in the process. However, a picture from her youth evokes a shift, and her facade begins to drop as she fights back tears. She retrieves a letter from a drawer, her hands shaking as she attempts to tell Carmy how anxious she is to see him. As she reads the words she wrote after seeing him at Tiff (Gillian Jacobs) and Frank’s (Josh Hartnett) wedding, Curtis depicts the slow unraveling of a woman who now blames herself for her estrangement from her own children. Donna’s mental breaking point has been shown before, but the contrast of this breakdown, which is much more inwardly destructive, offers so much clarity to the audience and makes the character feel more genuine and nuanced.
‘The Bear’ Season 4 Emphasizes the Similarities Between Carmy and Donna
The true gut-punch of Donna’s confession is her telling Carmy that she loves him, especially given their strained relationship. The words hold so much weight because the performative parenting present during “Fishes” has gone, and Donna is speaking as an equal, knowing her son has grown up too. Everything comes out like a flood, and suddenly it is clear that the pair are more similar than they first believed; for the first time, Carmy begins to understand his mom’s feelings. There are parallels in the way they push others away through fear of processing their own emotions; it calls back to how Carmy struggled to open up to Claire at the end of Season 2. It is through seeing his mom show such vulnerability that cements Carmy’s decision to step away from the restaurant.
The intimacy of the setting counters how The Bear usually portrays the Berzatto family, allowing Curtis to counter her usual bold and stress-ridden performance. Through Donna’s evolution, Curtis shows her deep connection to the character and understanding of her personal evolution, from being unable to enter The Bear to finally accepting a meal cooked by her son. It is a beautiful and moving arc, and easily the role of a lifetime for Curtis. This is not something the actress takes lightly, previously telling Variety that “everyone knows a Donna.” She gracefully accepts the weight of that responsibility and gives a deeply personal and intimate performance every time she returns to The Bear.