Celebrity sightings to filming in the streets: New Bedford's brushes with fame in 2022

NEW BEDFORD — New Bedford had a taste of Hollywood in 2022, from movies and TV shows being filmed on its streets, to celebrity sightings at restaurants, and locals participating in reality shows.

This year, celebrities such as Tommy Lee Jones, Paul Giamatti, Misha Collins, Jenna Ortega and Bill Murray visited the Whaling City.

But that's not all. Here's a look at Greater New Bedford's brushes with fame in 2022:

Filming all over New Bedford

New Bedford missed out on the action when Netflix's "Don't Look Up" chose Fall River and Disney's "Hocus Pocus 2" chose Providence as filming spots.

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But the region became a hot spot first in 2022, starting with the announcement that the Alexander Payne film "The Holdovers" starring Paul Giamatti would be filming at Fairhaven High School as well as the Wamsutta Club on County Street.

In February, next the GBH series "Roadfoods," hosted by actor Misha Collins filmed scenes for their New Bedford-inspired episode.

During the filming, while walking along the harbor, a fisherman named "Bob" invited Collins and his crew onto his boat to take a tour of the harbor.

"So, as far as we know right now, we're being abducted," the "Supernatural" actor-turned "Roadfood" host jokingly said.

"There is such a long and storied history here. You can kind of feel it. It's palpable. It's not a graveyard, but these are monuments to another time."

The series filmed at the Whaling Museum, Portugalia Marketplace, The Liberal Club and Tia Maria's European Cafe.

In May, New Bedford was abuzz again with news that the feature film "Finestkind," would be filming all over the New Bedford area and parts of the SouthCoast. Directed by New Bedford native Brian Helgeland, the film is about two brothers pulled into a deal with an organized crime syndicate in Boston.

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Oscar-winner Jones, Ben Foster ("Hell and High Water"), Toby Wallace ("The Society"), Tim Daly ("Wings") and Jenna Ortega ("Wednesday) were all spotted filming in places such as Custom House Square, on the Fairhaven bridge, a Fairhaven bar and a house on the North End.

After hours, there were numerous sightings of both Tommy Lee Jones and Ben Foster at restaurants such as The Black Whale, Corks Wine and Tapas, Cultivator Shoals and Pour Farm Tavern.

"It was cool," said William Silverstein, general manager of The Black Whale, on serving Jones. "Nice guy. He kept to himself, no one bothered him, either."

Transforming into the 1930s for AMC

In November, the downtown area of New Bedford was transformed in the 1930s to film scenes for the AMC series, "Invitation to a Bonfire." The production also filmed at the Wamsutta Club as well as in front of The Whalehouse on Madison Street. Filming will return to New Bedford in January and February 2023.

The story is about a young Russian immigrant and groundskeeper in a new school, who is drawn into a lethal love triangle with the school's newest faculty member and his wife.

The series stars Marvel's "She-Hulk" actress Tatiana Maslany and "Game of Thrones" actor Pilou Asbæk alongside Ngozi Jane Anyanwu ("Women Who Kill"), Freya Mavor ("About Joan") and Dennis Staroselsky ("Madam Secretary").

Celebrity sightings

Jones wasn't the only Oscar nominee to be spotted dining on the SouthCoast. In August, Bill Murray, 71, enjoyed dinner at Turk's Seafood in Mattapoisett after a round of golf at the Kittansett Club in Marion.

"I was a big fan, so I flipped out," said Kimberly McCarthy in a previous Standard-Times interview.

McCarthy, who has worked at Turk's Seafood for over four years, was in charge of takeout for the night when she was quickly shifted to the dining room. When Murray arrived, he surprised them with a group of 13.

"We were able to make it work," added McCarthy who seated them together on their outside patio. "He was just really friendly with me and made a lot of jokes."

In October, Food Network celebrity chef Jet Tila surprised staff at Mirasol's in Dartmouth, when he entered with a friend to specifically taste the Chippi — Mirasol's "super-charged" coffee beverage.

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The celebrity chef was on his way to UMass Dartmouth for a meet and greet and a Teaching Kitchen Pop-Up. He has appeared on varied television series including "Beat Bobby Flay," "The Best Thing I Ever Ate," "Chopped" and "Guy's Grocery Games" and co-host of the"Halloween Cookie Challenge," which is airing this month on the Food Network.

"He said, 'It definitely tastes like dessert in a cup' and he felt like he was going to be very energized after drinking it," said Tara McWilliams, a manger-in-training at the cafe, in a previous Standard-Times article.

Big stars appear at The Zeiterion Theatre

In October, actress and part-time Dartmouth resident Jenny Slate also came to The Zeiterion to present her film "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On" through New Bedford Cinema. Slate participated in a raffle in which she would have a beer with one lucky winner later that night.

Slate, who got her start on "Saturday Night Live," is best known for her baby-like voice behind iconic characters such as Bellwether in Disney's "Zootopia" and Gidget in "The Secret Life of Pets." She also starred in the movies "Gifted" and "Obvious Child," as well as a recurring guest appearance on NBC's "Parks and Recreation."

Tony Danza was also spotted walking around the downtown New Bedford area in November, before performing his one-man show at The Zeiterion Theatre.

"I've been doing this kind of thing for a while and it's finally clicked. So I'm really excited about it," Danza said.

Danza is known for starring on the television series "Taxi," "Angels in the Outfield" and "Who's the Boss?" for which he was nominated for an Emmy and four Golden Globe Awards. The actor recently made headlines for joining the cast of the second season of "Sex and the City" spinoff "And Just Like That."

In December, Obama White House photographer Pete Souza, with Dartmouth roots, returned to New Bedford to present his work at the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center.

His book, "Obama: An Intimate Portrait," published in 2017, debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list — one of the best-selling photography books of all time.

"If I can have an impact on people's lives to show I have an interesting, professional life, then they're capable of doing that too, then that means so much to me," he said in a previous Standard-Times interview.

New Bedford gets a taste of Broadway

In February, a stage musical performing in Berkeley, California, based on the music of American folk rock band The Avett Brothers, featured a story around a shipwreck off the coast of New Bedford.

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Based on the ill-fated yacht Mignonette, which was shipwrecked in 1888, "Swept Away: The Musical" revolves around the four surviving souls. The production is directed by Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer ("Spring Awakening").

The production is eyeing Broadway after a successful run at Berkeley Rep.

While a New Bedford musical may be in the works on Broadway, Broadway also came to the Whaling City in December for New Bedford Festival Theatre's first holiday musical "White Christmas."

Direct from Broadway, director and choreographer Patrick O’Neill helms the production. “We're bringing Broadway to New Bedford,” said O'Neill in a previous Standard-Times interview.

In 2015, he served as the associate choreographer for the Broadway hit “School of Rock.” His husband, Broadway veteran David Elder, starred as Bob. Elder is notable for being in the Broadway revival of "42nd Street" as Billy Lawlor. He also appeared in the original cast of Broadway's "Titanic" and "Damn Yankees."

New Bedford locals appear on television

In January, a familiar ex-New Bedford city councilor made an appearance on the 14th season of "Married at First Sight." Justice of the Peace Steven Martins said he was looking forward to the journey after marrying Alyssa Ellman and Chris Collette.

The couple's time on the show had been labeled the "biggest disaster of the season" with the duo opting out of their marriage early on.

"Marriage is perhaps the greatest and [most] challenging adventure. And you have to keep that in mind with patience, understanding and flexibility," Martins said in a previous interview with the Standard-Times. "In those cases, I don't think that Alyssa wanted to give it a shot from Day One."

Martins said his involvement started after receiving an arbitrary email from the show's producers seeking a justice of the peace, but the email didn't disclose much information — not even the name of the series.

"I thought it was spam," Martins admitted. After checking the credentials, he realized it was for "Married at First Sight."

Nathan Ellis, owner of Flip This Dollhouse in the Kilburn Mill, also didn't know what to make of a cryptic email from an assistant set designer interested in purchasing a doll house for an upcoming television show.

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Ellis said he put the pieces together and realized it was for HBO's "The Gilded Age," which was filming in the Newport, Rhode Island, area. "I was freaking out, but tried to play it cool," he said in a previous Standard-Times article.

He added that he heard the show was filming in the Chateau-sur-Mer in Newport which has a similar look to the dollhouse. However, the set piece will be appearing in bedroom scenes filmed inside The Elms mansion.

In July, Ellis received another call that a production company wanted to purchase several dollhouses for the ABC series "The Fatal Flaw" to be used to recreate crime scenes in their show.

According to Ellis, the shop supplied the dollhouses, furniture and accessories as well as helped stage some of the rooms based on provided crime scene photos by the producer. "I am like embarrassed to admit this, but I never thought I'd have so much fun recreating murder scenes," Ellis said.

In September, New Bedford's Matt Turner made headlines for placing third in CBS's "Big Brother." Born in North Attleborough, Turner currently resides in the New Bedford area with his girlfriend, Megan Belmote. The two own an art store called "The Rug Shack" in Bridgewater.

In an interview with Parade.com, Turner said his plan was to go into the house as a competition beast. "I typically get underestimated due to my looks. I think I'm absolutely gonna run this game," he said.

Going viral on TikTok

Last year, East Freetown's TikTok influencer Mikayla Nogueira was posting videos sharing her extensive makeup knowledge to 5.7 million followers. This year, she hit 13 million.

"It's just unreal that every day I continue to grow, and I'm really, really grateful about it all the time," she said in a previous interview with the Standard-Times. She also released a line of sunglasses with Dime Optics, hosted a live makeup lesson with L'Oreal in Los Angeles, created a Glow Recipe kit in Sephora and met Rihanna and Selena Gomez.

On July 2, Nogueira launched a collaboration with Glamlite that features a 30-color "Mikayla Eyeshadow Palette" with a highlighter, two sets of false lashes and three lip glosses — her face appearing in every Sephora and Kohls across the country.

"The collection is dedicated to Boston; I have a shade called Fall River," she said, adding other names include Freetown and Rhody. "It's just very much me."

New Bedford's Twins That Cook (Maya and Aria Christian) also went viral this year with their online cooking business. The duo appeared opposite Mario Lopez on Access Hollywood, the Drew Barrymore Show and The Today Show. In October, they signed with Gordon Ramsay's production company Studio Ramsay Global.

And then, of course, in October, Buttonwood Park Zoo's Emily the Elephant also went viral on TikTok. The 58-year-old Asian Elephant saw upward of 8 million views while showing off her drumming skills.

Part of the zoo's animal enrichment program, Emily's drumming time is part of several enrichment programs offered to the animals at the zoo on a daily basis.

"Enrichment is like my passion, it is one of the things that I really enjoy doing. It's one of the best things that we can do for our animals," added Stephanie Durette-Medeiros, a zookeeper who oversees several programs with the animals.

With so many connections to Hollywood in 2022, who knows what's in store for the Whaling City in 2023?

Standard-Times staff writer Seth Chitwood can be reached at schitwood@s-t.com. Follow him on twitter: @ChitwoodReports.Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford: Celebrity sightings, Finestkind, AMC series, viral TikTok