When Liza Colón-Zayas first set out to audition for the role of Tina Marrero in The Bear, her character was a bit of a mystery. With only one scene to go off of, she didn’t know much about Tina’s background, her motivations, or even whether her partner in the scene, Sydney, would be a man or a woman. But after 30 years in the business, Colón-Zayas has made peace with the unknown.
A native New Yorker who first started performing in the city’s theater scene, the actress also branched out into film and TV, booking roles in dozens of shows, including Law & Order, Sex and the City, and Dexter. By her count, she’s faced “thousands” of rejections, but she takes them in stride, secure in the fact that so much of this industry—whether a project gets greenlit, whether it becomes popular, and whether it gets a second season—is out of her hands.
Three seasons in, though, The Bear has become a runaway hit. Audiences and critics alike have rallied around the chaos of the fractured family and constantly distressed restaurant staff at the heart of the show. In that time, Colón-Zayas has tried not to box Tina in, waiting patiently for the writers to reveal more about the once-prickly line cook.
“Tina’s never been spoon-fed to the audience,” Colón-Zayas tells ELLE.com. “I appreciate that. She was a mystery, even to me sometimes, but I never judged her. For me, it was important to always find the humanity in her, and trust in her journey.”
Last season chipped away at some of Tina’s armor, as she threw herself into culinary school, became Sydney’s (Ayo Edebiri) sous chef, and delivered a soul-baring karaoke performance of Freddy Fender’s “Before The Next Teardrop Falls.” This season, which largely relies on flashbacks, we learn even more, finally understanding how Tina wound up working at the sandwich shop.
In “Napkins,” directed by Edebiri, we meet Tina in 2018 just as she’s been laid off. With her husband (played by Colón-Zayas’ real-life husband, David Zayas) counting on a promotion that may never materialize, she’s faced with the cruel reality that she’d spent years devoted to a company just to be cast out into a workforce that places little value on women her age. Colón-Zayas deftly steps into the spotlight, delivering a commanding performance in one of the strongest episodes of the season. It’s been an unexpected journey for the actress, but a rewarding one that’s allowed her to bring to life a character that’s all too rare in prestige TV.
“It’s been such a surprising turn,” she says. “But I just feel like if audiences walk away taking a moment to see the potential in a character like Tina, in people that normally get ignored, then we’ve done something powerful.”
Colón-Zayas spoke with ELLE.com about season 3 of The Bear, working with Edebiri, and her comfort meals.
Colón-Zayas as Tina in The Bear season 2, episode 6.
What was your reaction when you were sent the script for “Napkins”?
It was very emotional. I cried a lot, and I just felt very blessed. Because I get it. I understand Tina’s journey, because it felt like my journey. So to actually shine a light on that in such depth? I just cried a lot. [Laughs] It felt like a dream come true.
On some level, you’ve had a similar experience to the audience, where you didn’t know much about Tina’s background. What was your reaction to learning about her family life and what led her to the sandwich shop?
Getting to learn about her story, it was beautiful. I felt like, Yeah, why can’t she have this beautiful, loving, supportive man at home? Yes, she’s dealing with the day-to-day struggles of gentrification, layoffs, and the rent being jacked up—those are the real pressures of being working poor. But even in my brain, I hadn’t assumed what her home life was like, so I loved being caught off-guard.
Was there a scene in particular that you were really nervous about or looking forward to?
I knew I was gonna be fine with my husband. We’ve worked together before, and just like in real life, he holds me down in the best way. He’s my rock. I was more concerned about not wanting to let anybody down in the Jon Bernthal [Mikey] scene. It was our first scene together, and even though I knew he was a darling, I was also a fan of his, so I just really wanted to give that scene all the nuance that it deserved.
Colón-Zayas with Jon Bernthal in The Bear.
That scene was so powerful. It seems like, outside of her home, Mikey was the first person to really see Tina.
Exactly. I think on that day, Tina just wants to not be evicted. She says “I don’t need to save the world, I just want to feed my kid.” To see how she’s come from that to the present, trying to keep up and not fail—that stress is still there, she’s still facing down these mountains in front of her, but now she’s trying to hold onto a new dream.
I think that’s what makes Tina so compelling to watch: She’s a middle-aged, working-class Latina, and she’s getting another chance to chase down a dream.
Yeah, and it’s not playing out in a stereotypical way. It’s not this story of her transforming into a sexy character in order to see her value or something like that. The backbone of this country looks like Tina, so let’s give a little more credit to what people like her have to bring and have been bringing to the table.
You’re a part of the LAByrinth Theatre Company, which was founded in response to a lack of diversity in mainstream theater. How did being a part of that shape you and the way you’ve moved through the industry?
It was almost like Tina finding her family at The Bear. We were all the broken toys who had something to give. It was never meant to be something revolutionary, it was about creating a space where you could work on whatever you wanted, and no one got to tell you that, because you’re Latino, it wasn’t something for you. That was my artistic home, because I just really didn’t see myself anywhere. And I don’t say that out of pity, because I think it just speaks to our resilience as a Latino-centered theater company at that time. And it speaks to my resilience that I never gave up. I just kept trying to stay alive, as an artist and a human, trusting that the angels would open up the doors for me somewhere.
What kind of conversations did you have with Ayo about building out Tina’s world?
We started with her home and the food. That was the launching point, so we were just thinking: What would this home look like for a working class family? What would we be eating? What would the kitchen look like? What would be on the walls? We just wanted to pay attention to that authenticity. But also, we had two years of trust built together, and the respect that women of color have for each other, even with our age difference, we see each other and hold each other up. So collaborating together in this way, it was so smooth. I just love her. She’s outstanding.
It seems like you’ve both forged a great friendship on and offscreen.
Definitely. I think our relationship is rooted in respect. I mean, my girl has been writing and doing comedy since she was 20 years old. I have mad respect for what she does, because it takes courage. But I also didn’t realize until a little later, that she had seen me in a bunch of New York plays before The Bear, so she had that respect for me. I also just love that we get to show that when you have brown women working together, amazing, powerful things can happen. Let’s keep going in that direction.
Liza Colón-Zayas (front left) and Ayo Edebiri (front center) at the 2024 Golden Globes.
We see Tina in the episode making a lot of crockpot meals. What’s a meal that holds a special importance to you?
Oh, it will always be rice and beans. Rice, beans, and meat. With my mom, it was always a simple, pounded steak with the cebolla and the gravy, just falling apart with the rice and beans and platano. I actually didn’t like to eat a lot as a kid. I always felt like I should be spending time playing. But if my grandmother made something, I was eating it: pastelillos con queso, con carne, whatever. There was just something about that act of love.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.