'The Bear' stars gush about our favourite Canadian food icon Matty Matheson

The wait is finally over for Canadians: The Bear Season 2, starring Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce and Liza Colón-Zayas, is finally available for us on Disney+.

But while we've had to wait significantly longer than our American friends to start the season, one highlight of Season 2, particularly for Canadians, is that we get to see a lot more of Canada's Toronto-based culinary icon Matty Matheson.

Matheson plays Neil on the show, one of the many interesting characters who work at The Beef, and in Season 2 Neil and Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) are responsible for a lot of the comedy, as the sandwich stop is set to be transformed into a more elegant dining restaurant.

For anyone who's not familiar, Matheson is responsible for some of the best food Toronto has had to offer for years, from the city's now closed Parts & Labour restaurant, to the popular Matty's Patty Burger Club and Prime Seafood Palace. That's in addition to Rizzo's House of Parm at Crystal Beach, helming Our House Hospitality Company, publishing multiple cookbooks and having his own YouTube channel. Of course, we can't forget about Matheson also serving as an executive producer of The Bear.

"I didn't know who he was when I first got hired for this show, I just thought this guy was just so funny," Colón-Zayas, who plays Tina in The Bear, told Yahoo Canada in June. "He has me cracking up all the time. I love what they're doing with his character and Richie, and I just find them to be pure comedy gold, whenever they're together."

"He's a joy to be around and to walk into restaurants with because everyone loves him. I love him."

For Boyce, who plays Marcus on The Bear, he's been telling Matheson that he wants to spend a day in Toronto, eating at all of Matheson's restaurants. Boyce describes his Canadian co-star as "cool" and "extremely smart."

"He's one of those people who is smart but he's knowledgable about so many different things," Boyce told Yahoo Canada in a separate interview in June. "I could talk to him about clothes and then music, and then movies, food, literally any topic you bring up he has knowledge and insight on. And it's not phony, he has a specific opinion."

"Working with him is great because he's also a curious person. He's funny. He's fun to riff with and he's, I think, one of the funniest characters."

'It's risky in this male-dominated world for her to expose weaknesses'

While Season 1 of The Bear shook up our world, dropping us into this hectic, stressful story that largely revolved around Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) taking over his brother's Chicago sandwich spot, after working at the famed French Laundry, in Season 2 we get to spend more time with some of the other complicated, alluring characters in the series.

That includes Tina and Marcus, who really get the opportunity to follow their passion.

"I think audiences are going appreciate being able to take a breath and get to know these people. You're going to get your stress hit as well, but we'll be able to breathe through and get to know these characters a little better," Colón-Zayas said.

"For Tina to be seen as someone who isn't just crotchety, but she's not done yet, she has been able to crack open her heart and trust that she is being supported, and included and validated. I think that she's seeing that others believe in her, that it's not too late to find her dream and her inspiration, and to be a part of rebuilding this family, along with this restaurant."

Specifically for Tina, we saw in the first season of the show that she isn't someone who makes her emotions frequently available for others to see. We really got a glimpse into her personal moments and feelings on an as-needed basis. That was something Colón-Zayas initially questioned at the beginning of the series.

"At first I did bring that up to [co-showrunners Christopher Storer and Joanna Calo] like, 'she's so hard, man. She's such a hard a—,'" Colón-Zayas revealed. "They were like, trust, just trust, and we did that, and I realized ... it falls in line that Tina lets you know [on a need-to-know basis] because it's risky."

"It's risky in this male-dominated world for her to expose weaknesses. So she's had to compensate. Being older, having fewer credentials and all of the struggles. Gentrification, all the ageism, all of those things. So I think that I appreciate that she's able to kind of kick back a little bit and trust that the children are not going to just check her out."

Teasing Season 2 (without spoiling too much for those Canadians who have avoided spoilers from the U.S.), there's a great exploration of an evolving relationship between Tina and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri).

"Women, we need to support each other more," Colón-Zayas said. "It's not a magic band-aid, but why not? Why can't we go there? And we're going to have more fun with that."

'If you're representing somebody, the moment they feel it's inauthentic, they cut it down'

Marcus is another character that we were exceptionally excited to see get more screen time in Season 2, starting off on a massive journey to be a phenomenal pastry chef.

"The thing that excited me about Season 2 was seeing his growth with his desserts," Boyce said. "Season 1 was him discovering his passion, Season 2 was refine it and ... going off, like I want to get good and make something."

"Him figuring out expression and how to make it his own, and what he can do. ... His abilities are at a higher level. He can make whatever he wants to make."

Much of Season 2 is about Marcus living out his passion, which is something that Boyce can relate to in his personal life.

"It's something that's easy to create a parallel to my real life and I think anyone who feels their [work] is not a career, it's a passion for them, it lends itself to that naturally," Boyce said.

"Reading some of these cookbooks of these high-level chefs, and like just how they talked about creativity and stuff, just directly applies to me and what I'm trying to do in my life."

But with further exploration of making exceptional desserts comes a bit of anxiousness for the actor to make his skills in the kitchen look as real as possible.

"I have to at least be familiar, have the hand work to look like I know what I'm doing," Boyce said. "I think the kitchen world is very opinionated. ... If you're representing somebody, the moment they feel it's inauthentic, they cut it down."

"I want [them] to at least, when they're watching it, be like, 'OK that feels real."

Since The Bear initially premiered, it's been an absolute sensation, and Season 2 also doesn't disappoint with really complex and challenging storytelling, in the best way. But it's also an example of how the specificities in a project really make a difference for the audience.

"When we're shooting, even Matty or [Courtney Storer], who was the culinary producer, they'd be like, 'stand like this' or ... 'no one stands like that,'" Boyce said, "Those small details make the difference."

"When they put the water, instead of in a water bottle, they put it in the deli cup, ... I've seen so many people point out that moment because they're like, 'yeah, that's real.'"

"[Matty Matheson's] got that eagle eye. He's always watching to make sure we're doing things correctly and authentically," Colón-Zayas said, in a separate interview.

But The Bear also has a lot of heart and emotion, and doesn't shy away from being really raw with exposing those elements of the story. With that kind of narrative in TV, we'll take as many seasons of The Bear as we can get.

All interviews were conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike.