Dominic Sessa Portrays Young Anthony Bourdain in New Film "Tony"

Anthony Bourdain , across his hundreds of hours of TV appearances, was always a larger-than-life figure. The upcoming biopic Tony does its best to capture that spirit, with Dominic Sessa ( The Holdovers , Now You See Me: Now You Don’t ) stepping up to play the famed celebrity chef and author during the earliest days of his career. In this first trailer, Tony scrambles for a job after losing out on a writing fellowship, finding new inspiration in the culinary world after going to work for the demanding head chef of a Provincetown kitchen (Antonio Banderas).

Tony is directed by Blackberry helmer Matt Johnson, following up his recent success with Nirvanna: The Band – The Show – The Movie . In an interview with EW , Johnson explained that the script for the film focuses on two chapters of the best-selling memoir Kitchen Confidential , in which a young Bourdain started working in kitchens. Bourdain’s estate supports the film, saying in a statement that “it is not a standard biopic and doesn’t attempt to summarize a life… It is an interpretation, as that part of Tony’s life will always remain somewhat unknown.”

Tony also stars Emilia Jones, Dagmara Domińczyk, Rich Sommer, Stavros Halkias, and Leo Woodall, and will be released by A24 this August. Watch the first trailer below.

Related Video

Here is the full statement from Bourdain’s estatement on the film:

“Anthony Bourdain’s legacy is meaningful to millions of people. He was a man who valued authenticity above all else and would have been both moved and baffled by the world’s curiosity about his life.

Advertisement

“We chose to support TONY because it is not a standard biopic and doesn’t attempt to summarize a life. Guided by the vision of director Matt Johnson, the film depicts one transformative summer in 1975 in Provincetown, Massachusetts. It is an interpretation as that part of Tony’s life will always remain somewhat unknown.

“We appreciate the portrayal of Tony’s complexity, his intellectual appetite and his conviction — qualities that eventually took him around the globe and endeared him to so many. We hope this film serves as a reminder that every journey has a start, and that audiences see the beginnings of the man who taught us how to be better explorers on our own paths.”

Load More

_Originally reported by [Consequence](https://consequence.net/2026/05/tony-trailer-anthony-bourdain-dominic-sessa/)._