S2 Character Descriptions
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S2 CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS TESS (Ella Purnell) No longer new to New York or her job, Tess is now learning how to use both her voice and her personal power. She hungers for knowledge and pushes herself to embrace every new experience — all while trying to navigate her lust for Jake, her relationship with Simone, and the increasingly dangerous dynamics within the restaurant. SIMONE (Caitlin FitzGerald) Simone is the embodiment of self-possession, beauty and authority at the restaurant. She has an effortless command over the guests, her co-workers and her wine list. But what her perfect facade conceals is the fact that she is entirely stuck at the restaurant. HOWARD (Paul Sparks) Howard is the general manager of the restaurant as well as father figure and mentor to his staff. Poised and thoughtful, he is a man who appears to be exactly where he wants to be. With his impeccably tailored suits comes a certain degree of power, with which he may have grown a little too comfortable. JAKE (Tom Sturridge) Jake is a moody, mysterious bartender, who is deeply attached to Simone. Jake arouses an overwhelming lust in Tess and plays a large role in her sexual awakening, which further complicates his relationship with Simone. ARIEL ("ARI") (Eden Epstein) Ari is a savvy and adventurous back waiter, with a bottomless wallet and a lonely penthouse apartment. In lieu of a real family, Ari’s coworkers have become the most important thing in her life. HEATHER (Jasmine Mathews) Heather is a smart, skilled server, and the only person of color in the front of house. Reckoning with this fact, along with the role her class plays in her identity, pushes her to consider ambitions outside of the restaurant. SASHA (Daniyar) Sasha is both an outrageous and brutally honest back waiter — a gay immigrant who holds an expiring U.S. visa and faces violence back home in Russia. After a bad fall in Season 1, Sasha is working to heal both his body and his head. WILL (Evan Jonigkeit) Will, a back waiter, was Tess’ first friend in the restaurant, and he still holds an unreciprocated torch for her. Sick of being seen as the poster child “nice guy,” Will grapples with his identity and seeks out opportunities to prove he has an edge. EDDIE (Eric D. Hill) Eddie, now a line cook at 22W, worked his way up in kitchens without any formal training. He is highly ambitious and has a plan that involves running his own place someday. This long-term vision inspires Heather’s own views of her future, and the two connect over what it means to be a person of color at the restaurant. NICKY (Todd Gearhart) Nicky is the restaurant’s longtime bartender and resident voice of wisdom, whose general unpretentiousness has been drawing people to the bar for decades. Nicky is set apart from much of the staff (and their accompanying drama) by the normalcy of his life outside the restaurant, with children and a wife of his own. SCOTT (Jimmie Saito) Scott is the restaurant’s strong-minded, deadpan sous chef. His incredible kitchen skills represent a fresh new direction and future for the restaurant, but his innovative menu ideas are mostly rejected by Chef. ETIENNE (William Abadie) Etienne is a French champagne maker and Simone’s ex-husband. In his 40s, he is handsome but weary. Since Simone left France — and him — all those years ago, Etienne has worked to create the grower champagne they dreamed of together. MANNY (Gabriel Gutierrez) Manny is one of the 22W line cooks and somewhat of a trouble maker. He takes Santos under his wing as a fellow immigrant, but he will stop at nothing to rectify a situation he sees as unfair — even if it means throwing others under the bus. SANTOS (Rafa Beato) Santos is the young dishwasher at 22W, a recent arrival from Puebla, Mexico. Though the front of house and back of house have a clear divide — one that can be especially tense — Santos and Tess bond over their shared newness and desire to craft a New York life for themselves. ROSALYN (Sadie Scott) Rosalyn replaces Becky this season as the restaurant’s new hostess. Although not fully integrated into the server family the way Tess is, Rosalyn does become romantically involved with someone in the restaurant. BECKY (Katerina Tannenbaum) Slightly outside the bubble of Tess’ server family, Becky is young and beautiful, and she is the former hostess at 22W. A secret relationship with Howard resulted in Becky being transferred to a different restaurant, but it is unclear whether or not this means Howard and Becky are done for good. MADDIE (Sandra Bernhard) Maddie Glover is the head chef and owner of the Sweetbitter restaurant. Launched to culinary fame at the age of 26 and now manning a global food empire, Maddie is driven and unapologetic. She may have turned more CEO than chef in recent years, but she is quick to remind her staff — Howard included — that it is her name on the menu. SEASON TWO CAST BIOGRAPHIES Ella Purnell (Tess) As a rising British actress with a diverse collection of roles highlighted across film, television and theater, Ella Purnell is one to watch. Purnell starred in director Tim Burton’s visually fantastical 2016 adaptation of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children with a leading breakout role as Emma opposite Eva Green and Asa Butterfield. Her other film credits include Fox Searchlight’s Never Let Me Go, Universal’s Kick-Ass 2 and Disney’s Maleficent. She has also had roles in independent films such as Churchill (with Brian Cox and John Slattery), The Journey Is the Destination (with Maria Bello) and Intruders (with Clive Owen and Daniel Brühl). Purnell is currently in production on “Belgravia,” an upcoming television series for ITV. She will also soon begin production on Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead for Netflix, playing Dave Bautista’s daughter. Last year, Purnell starred alongside Bill Nighy in BBC One’s three-part adaptation of Agatha Christie’s novel “Ordeal by Innocence,” directed by Sandra Goldbacher. On stage, Purnell led a performance in “Natives,” an original play by Glenn Waldron about teenagers coming of age in the digital world, which was directed by Rob Drummer at Southwark Playhouse in London. Tom Sturridge (Jake) Tom Sturridge will next be seen in Dan Gilroy’s Velvet Buzzsaw alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, John Malkovich, Toni Collette, Zawe Ashton, Billy Magnussen and Daveed Diggs. His theater credits include “1984” and “Orphans” (Tony Award® nomination) on Broadway, and “American Buffalo” (Olivier Award nomination) at the West End. Sturridge has been seen in the films Mary Shelley (opposite Elle Fanning), Journey’s End (with Paul Bettany and Sam Claflin), On the Road (as Allen Ginsberg), Far from the Madding Crowd (opposite Carey Mulligan), Song to Song (opposite Ryan Gosling) and Pirate Radio (opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman). His other television credits include BBC’s “The Hollow Crown” (alongside Benedict Cumberbatch and Dame Judi Dench). Caitlin FitzGerald (Simone) Caitlin FitzGerald is currently shooting the second season of the HBO series “Succession.” She was last seen in the Starz series “Sweetbitter,” opposite Ella Purnell and Tom Sturridge, as well as the independent film The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot, opposite Sam Elliot. Fitzgerald starred opposite Mackenzie Davis in Sophia Takal's independent film Always Shine, which premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival and played at AFI Fest. In addition to starring in the third season of the Emmy®-nominated and Peabody Award–winning Lifetime series “UnREAL” as the fictional reality show’s first female suitor, she starred on the Showtime series “Masters of Sex,” opposite Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan. She also had a season-long arc on the finale season of SundanceTV’s “Rectify.” Fitzgerald’s other credits include Adult Beginners, in which she appeared opposite Nick Kroll, Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale for producer Mark Duplass and director Ross Katz; Nancy Meyers’ It’s Complicated; Whit Stillman’s Damsels in Distress; and Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock. Paul Sparks (Howard) Paul Sparks is currently shooting a starring role in the new season of the Hulu series "Castle Rock," a thriller based on Stephen King’s novel set in the fictional Maine town and produced by Bad Robot. He recently completed production on Season 2 of “Sweetbitter.” The Starz drama series is based on the New York Times best-selling book by Stephanie Danler. Season 2 will premiere in July 2019. Sparks earned a 2018 Lucille Lortel Award nomination, a Drama League Award nomination and an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for his performance in the off-Broadway production of “Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo: Homelife and The Zoo Story.” The play opened to rave reviews, with The Hollywood Reporter calling him a “force of nature.” Its run was subsequently extended through March 25, 2018. That same year, Sparks starred in the anticipated limited series “Waco” opposite Taylor Kitsch, Michael Shannon, Julia Garner, Melissa Benoist and Andrea Riseborough. The series debuted as part of the original programming lineup for the new Paramount Network and premiered on January 24, 2018. Sparks also appeared in the drama thriller “Thoroughbreds,” directed by Cory Finley. The film was released by Focus Features on March 9, 2018. Additionally, Sparks guest starred on the hit Netflix series “The Crown” as Reverend Billy Graham. At the end of 2017, Sparks appeared in the drama “The Greatest Showman,” alongside Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Rebecca Ferguson and Zendaya. The film was released by 20th Century Fox on December 25, 2017 and went on to earn $424,779,402 at the worldwide box office.