Hollywood Times
A Conversation with actor and artist Edwin Lee Gibson from FX’s The Bear
Written By: Xavier Carwell
In FX’s critically acclaimed The Bear, Ebraheim is the quiet storm who finally thunders. With a stealth and clever performance, Edwin Lee Gibson transforms Ebra from a line cook fearful of change into one of Season 4’s most pivotal players. When the series began, Ebraheim was an enigma in the kitchen. Now, he steps into something bigger: vision.
Season 4 finds Ebraheim at the helm of The Original Beef, thinking beyond his station. He proposes a bold new idea: to franchise the shop in hopes of elevating The Beef and saving The Bear. Could this force everyone to reconsider what’s possible? Is it a power play? Can Carmy and Uncle Jimmy be swayed? Whatever the answer, everyone will be be forced to reexamine who Ebraheim really is.
A major part of Ebra’s evolution is his mentorship with Albert, a seasoned business manager played by Rob Reiner. Nearly 90% of Reiner’s scenes are shared with Gibson, creating one of the season’s most dynamic and affecting partnerships. This is the comedy duo we didn’t know we needed. Their chemistry brings both depth and unexpected humor to a season defined by risk, reinvention, and second chances.
On 8 July 2025, I was able to interview Edwin Lee Gibson, a veteran actor particularly known for his role as Ebrahim in the critically acclaimed tv series, The Bear. In the interview, Gibson eloquently elaborated on multiple topics including being an original cast member of The Bear, his 46-year career as an artist, and his activism with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
Each season of the critically acclaimed series explores how “Every Second Counts” in the restaurant world—where ambition, anxiety, and artistry collide. For Ebraheim, this means rising from silent figure to a strategic force. He’s no longer just observing from the margins—he’s leading. Here to “think small” is to think smarter, grow larger. As the season ends, we’re left wondering: Will Ebra’s idea to save The Bear work? How will it shift dynamics in the kitchen? Will this lead to an Ebraheim origin story?
Season 4 cements Edwin Lee Gibson as a vital part of The Bear’s award-winning ensemble—and gives audiences the breakout arc they didn’t know they needed.
All episodes of Season 4 are now streaming on FX, Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.
ABOUT EDWIN LEE GIBSON
A self-described “theatre rat,” Gibson began performing professionally at 16 and has since appeared in over 100 productions. He earned a 2006 OBIE Award for Outstanding Performance for his radical portrayal of Oedipus in The Seven at New York Theatre Workshop—a role critics could not forget:
“Most spectacularly, there’s Edwin Lee Gibson’s Oedipus, an outrageous, comically toxic blend of Superfly, B.B. King, and Al Jolson.” — Village Voice
“Mr. Gibson’s Oedipus is the show’s presiding spirit: smooth of tongue, limber of leg and always in your face.”— The New York Times
International acclaim followed when he was invited by the late Peter Brook to join his legendary company in residence at London’s National Theatre Studio and Paris’s Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord.
His layered, genre-defying work has been profiled by The New York Times, Village Voice, The Wall Street Journal, The LA Times, and The Washington Post. Of his current role, The Wall Street Journal wrote:
“Then someone like the meat chef Ebraheim (a terrific Edwin Lee Gibson) says something dryly hilarious and the pressure is released from the cooker.”
Off-stage, Gibson has written and performed in nationally commissioned solo works, contributed to The Moth, and written multiple pilots and screenplays. He is an alum of the Sony Pictures Television Writing Program and a member of SAG-AFTRA, Actor’s Equity, and New York Theatre Workshop’s Usual Suspects.
SEASON 4 of THE BEAR premiered June 2025 on FX and Hulu.