How Dominic Sessa Related to Young Anthony Bourdain in ‘Tony’ (Exclusive)

Dominic Sessa, Stavros Halkias, and director Matt Johnson are dishing with "Extra" on their new film “Tony.” 

The biographical comedy-drama is based on stories from the late Anthony Bourdain’s memoir about his early years working at a Cape Cod restaurant at age 19.

Dominic plays a young Anthony and said found the role “relatable.” He explained, “This experience, this time in my life is so similar and the character I play in the film is so similar I think to myself in a lot of ways, where I think I’ve had to be confronted with hard truths and learn the hard way with a lot of things. In the same way in the movie, like, I grew up kind of trying to be a bunch of different things without really committing to something earnestly.”

Dominic continued, "When I started acting, I had a chance to sort of find myself and, I don't know, figure out who I was, in a way. And for Tony in this movie, it's kind of similar. He's in a kitchen and is confronted with people that are intimidating and scary, but it's like in that is where you kind of realize whatever potential it is that you have."

He shared, "That was powerful to me, and I think it's really relatable for not just me but for a lot of people, especially young people."

Stavros opened up about his character Dimitri, a sous chef who he described as "blue collar" and a "locker room guy."

He added, “He's there to haze Tony... but then throw his arm around him at the end... I wanted to recreate the vibe of that guy who’s not quite mentor level, but you do look up to him in certain ways."

He continued, "There's so much about Bourdain, it would be kind of insulting to try and get everything like word perfect exactly right imitation. Our movie is about the vibe of that specific summer and that period in his life and everybody's life who's 19 and trying to figure it out. So that's how I approached my guy. I wanted the vibe of that guy who's gonna bust your balls at your job, but ultimately if we get in a fight with a rival restaurant, you know I got Tony’s back.”

Stavros also joked of his culinary skills, "I mean, I can make a very complex snack." He said, "The plating is very sloppy. It's more about the taste than anything else."

Matt spoke about why he wanted to make the movie, sharing, “What I liked was Dominic Sessa. I thought, ‘I wanna make a movie with him,' and it is not a lot deeper than that. Really the skin and trappings of this film were incidental but welcomed. I love the settling and I love the movie, but I was much more interested in the behavior of him and the other actors."