Ayo Edebiri And Jeremy Allen White both say mutual respect is the foundation for their friendship, both on and off screen.
“Work can be very intimate, very personal and very emotional,” Edebiri said on Tuesday in the new cover story of Vanity fair. “I think if you're also in industries that are creative or creative-adjacent, I think there's something that also creates feelings of passion.”
Edebiri and White star as chefs Sydney and Carmy on FX's The bear, which releases its third season next month. Both actors won Emmys, Golden Globes and SAG Awards in their respective categories for their performance in season one (season two will be eligible for awards next year).
White added that he has “an enormous amount of respect for [Edebiri] as a person, but also as an artist. And so I hope that those kinds of things shine through on camera between Carm and Syd.
The profile also noted that White was so eager to talk about his friendship with Edebiri that he called the reporter “within a day of being asked” – which never happened. ever happens.”
The off-screen friendship lends itself to a great on-screen dynamic (and some parallels in between). “Syd is always able to… I don't know, give Carmy something different, and she's usually right,” White said. “And I think Ayo is usually right too.”
Moreover, Edebiri added playfully, “the boy has beautiful blue eyes. You know what I mean? Those are eyes you want to project on.”
Elsewhere in the profile, Edebiri also spoke about her Saturday evening live hosting gig, which she shared with musical guest Jennifer Lopez. Days before the episode aired, a 2020 podcast clip surfaced in which Edebiri compared Lopez's career to a scam. The headlines at the time suggested tension between the two artists, which Edebiri said was absurd. 'That would be like the battle between Mr. Bean and Mick Jagger,” she said. “I'm obviously Mr. Bean. She's J.Lo!”
She also noted that Lopez was quick to accept her apology for the comments. “She was very cold and nice about it,” she said.