‘Tony’ Trailer Drops — Dominic Sessa Stars as Anthony Bourdain in A24’s Chef Biopic

Film studios often release biopics to explore how real-life figures found their path, especially when it comes to creative industries like cooking, writing, or music. These films usually focus on early struggles, key turning points, and the moments that shape someone’s future career.

Another trend in recent cinema is showing famous people before they became well-known. Instead of focusing on their peak success, these stories often highlight their younger years and the mistakes or challenges that helped define them.

According to A24, a new trailer has been released for its upcoming film Tony. The movie is a biographical drama about chef Anthony Bourdain and stars Dominic Sessa in the lead role. The film is set for theatrical release in August.

The story is directed by Matt Johnson, who is known for films like “BlackBerry.” It follows a young Bourdain at 19 years old, as he leaves college life behind and ends up in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he starts working in a busy restaurant kitchen.

In the trailer, Bourdain is first seen talking about his future plans. He says, “Okay, so I’m just going to walk you through the basic vision. It’s a coming-of-age story.” The scene shows him still unsure of where his life is heading.

Later, he meets a former classmate played by Emilia Jones. She questions his past, asking, “Didn’t you punch a hole in the principal’s door?” Bourdain responds that things have changed for him, saying he believes he is on his way to a writing fellowship, although that plan does not work out.

After a rough moment in his life, he travels to Provincetown, where he begins working under a strict chef played by Antonio Banderas. The chef sets clear rules in the kitchen, telling him, “We open Wednesday to Sunday. Start 11:00 a.m. That means you are here at 10:45. 11:00 is late. Anyone late is fired.”

As the story continues, Bourdain struggles to adjust to kitchen life. He argues with coworkers and learns how intense the environment can be. At one point, he reflects on food from his past, saying, “I ate these in France when I was a kid. I said they taste like the future.”

Over time, he begins to find his place in the kitchen and gains more responsibility. He starts contributing ideas and learns how to express his creativity through food. One of his lines in the trailer shows this shift in attitude: “[What] we’re going to start with is a special. Every Friday, something fancy, not pretentious. Something sexy, makes you want to f**k. Something only you can do.”

The trailer ends with Bourdain accepting his new path, saying, “If anybody asks, I’m not a writer. I work in a kitchen.” This moment shows how he fully steps into the world that will later define his career.

Alongside Sessa and Banderas, the film also features Dagmara Dominczyk, Rich Sommer, Stavros Halkias, and Leo Woodall. The screenplay was written by Matt Johnson, Matthew Miller, Todd Bartels, and Lou Howe.

Based on the trailer, Tony focuses on the early, messy, and uncertain period of Anthony Bourdain’s life before he became a major figure in the culinary world.

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