Marcus Brooks

**Marcus Brooks** is a main character in the first and second seasons of the comedy drama series ***The Bear***. He is a chef at The Original Beef of Chicagoland. He is portrayed by Lionel Boyce.

## Background

Prior to the working at 'The Beef', Marcus worked at a phone company for five years and then a McDonald's. He played division three football as an outside linebacker in college, which helped him pay for school. Prior to working there, Marcus frequently ate lunch at the Beef and met its owner, Michael Berzatto, who expressed interest in opening a bakery before presumably hiring Marcus.

## Personality

Marcus is a kind and thoughtful person. He is always seen smiling and has a passion for what he does, especially when it comes to baking. He is always laughing and joking with his crew, whom he cares a lot for. He is hardworking and is able to handle anything thrown his way.

## Throughout the Series

### Season 1

Marcus is a character who works as a baker at The Original Beef of Chicagoland. Initially resistant to Carmy's proposed changes to modernize the restaurant, Marcus gradually connects with his new role as the staff begins to embrace the changes. He is a passionate baker, and his enthusiasm is particularly evident in his dedication to developing a new chocolate cake.

When the restaurant faces various challenges, including a toilet backup and a blown fuse, Marcus remains committed to his work and rushes to bake cakes. However, he finds himself falling behind on other restaurant tasks.

Marcus's commitment to his work is further highlighted when he returns to work after Sydney and Carmy quit due to a chaotic incident in the kitchen. Carmy apologizes to Marcus for an outburst he had.

### Season 2

Marcus is involved in the development of The Bear restaurant. While Sydney and Carmy focus on the menu and renovations, Marcus is tasked with creating three unique desserts for the establishment. In order to enhance his skills, Marcus temporarily leaves his terminally ill mother to travel to Copenhagen, where he learns from a skilled pastry chef named Luca. During his time in Copenhagen, Marcus forms a close bond with Luca and even saves a man trapped after a bicycle crash.

Upon his return, Marcus presents his new dessert menu to Sydney and continues to contribute to the restaurant's preparation. However, amidst the challenges faced by the team, such as the fire suppression test and the walk-in fridge handle breaking, Marcus is unaware of numerous messages from his mother's nurse. He receives a gift from Luca, a sign that reads "Every Second Counts," and hangs it in the kitchen, highlighting his dedication and commitment to his craft.

## Relationships

### Sydney

Marcus and Sydney are good friends and co-workers. Upon first joining The Beef, Sydney was teased by all of the staff for being the new girl, but Marcus still tried to be nice to her when he could. At one point, they asked Marcus to hide one of Sydney's dishes, and while it was funny to Marcus, this greatly annoyed Sydney. She accidentally spills a bucket of stock and Marcus helps Sydney clean up the mess, encouraging her to "keep going," knowing she was stressed from the poor treatment by the crew. Over the remainder of the first season, the two become fast friends, bonding over Marcus' interest in baking and Sydney motivating him as a mentor. She invites him over to eat after they both quit the restaurant during the ordering crisis and bond over the experience. Over Dinner, Sydney tells Marcus that she tried his donut from off the floor - after Carmy hit it there - and that t was "really good". She also admits to Marcus the best meal she ever had was made by Carmy. Both eventually make amends with Carmy and return to Beef in the finale.

In the second season, Marcus and Sydney grow closer as they all prepare for the opening of 'The Bear', and Marcus slowly begins to develop feelings for her, while Sydney does not appear to reciprocate those feelings. He confides in Sydney his worries about his mother, and it's Sydney who makes the suggestion that Marcus travels to Copenhagen in order to come up with new desserts for the menu, as well as take his mind off of things. During his trip, she facetimes him, consoling him about his mother and casually tells him she misses him, resulting in Marcus realizing that he has feelings for her. Upon his return, he unveils four new desserts to her and Carmy, and names one of them "Sydney's doughnut", after her. Despite being highly proud of Marcus, their relationship starts to become awkward when Marcus asks her out and she awkwardly declines. This throws Sydney off her game as he asked her out on the day of their soft open. Sydney focuses on getting the dishes out during the opening, which causes Marcus to feel ignored and results in him eventually yelling at her in frustration, shocking her. Despite the tension between them, they along with everyone else, are able to come together to make sure all orders are served on time after Carmy gets locked in the fridge. Afterward, Marcus apologizes, and the two of them bond over Marcus' revelation that he found Josh smoking crack in the alley.

### Carmy

Marcus and Carmy are good friends and co-workers. Upon first joining The Beef, Marcus, along with everyone else at the restaurant, was skeptical of Carmy and the changes he brought to the kitchen. Despite this, Carmy soon won Marcus due to the former's cooking expertise by offering a suggestion on how to improve the softness of his bread buns, which was successful. Later, Marcus became inspired to improve his own baking after stumbling upon Carmy's old cookbooks. This resulted in the two bonding further over their passion for baking, with Carmy happily offering advice to Marcus and sharing his experiences as a chef. In one episode, while Carmy was away, the kitchen experienced a power outage, forcing everyone to move outside to serve food. When Carmy returned, a guilty Marcus confessed to him that he was the reason for the outage, and vowed that he would never make a mistake again. Rather than chastising him, however, Carmy consoled him and told him that it was normal to make mistakes, and invited him to come back to work. Unfortunately, their relationship would take a turn for the worse when, during a particularly hectic morning, Marcus decides to work on his special doughnut rather than keeping up with his orders, and offers an already furious Carmy to try it. Realizing that Marcus had not been working, an outraged Carmy immediately yelled at him, smacked Marcus' doughnut to the floor, and ordered him to get back to work. Heartbroken and shocked, Marcus chose to leave the kitchen in the middle of the shift rather than help. Despite being angry at Carmy, Marcus decides to return to work where he encounters Carmy, who expresses sincere remorse for his actions and apologizes, which Marcus accepts.

Marcus and Carmy return to being on good terms in the second season, helping him, along with everyone else, in preparing for the opening of the Bear, and Carmy sends him to Copenhagen in order to improve his baking skills in preparation for opening night. Upon return, Marcus unveils one of the deserts he learned to make - a Copenhagen Sundae - which Carmy tries and compliments him for. He later unveils four new desserts for the menu to Carmy and Sydney, including the doughnut he worked on during the last season that Carmy smacked away. Humorously, Marcus humorously reveals that the desert is called 'Sydney's doughnut (before Carmy destroyed like a little b\*\*\*\*)'. Although he understands that it's a joke, Carmy nonetheless humorously replies that he still feels bad about the incident, which Marcus appreciates. He proceeds to unveil the final dessert, 'The Michael', named after Carmy's late brother, which Carmy deeply appreciates. Later, on the opening of the restaurant, when Marcus snaps at Sydney for ignoring him, Carmy intervenes and sends Marcus back to his station to cool off. Marcus also attempts to free Carmy from the walk-in fridge after he gets stuck in it, to no avail. The two presumably end the season on good terms.

### Chester

Chester is Marcus' roommate and best friend. They have a fun, close, easy-going friendship, and they are both fans of the television series *The Bachelorette.* In season 1, Chester visits Marcus at work, and before Marcus leaves on his trip to Copenhagen in season 2, Chester promises to look after Marcus' mother and makes sure he has his passport.

### Luca

Marcus and Luca were briefly co-workers and are friends. They first met when, in preparation for the opening of their new restaurant, Carmy sent Marcus to Copenhagen to improve and learn new skills as a pastry chef. Upon first meeting, Luca acted as a somewhat stern, distant mentor to Marcus, and kept things purely professional. This was due to his dedication to his craft, however, and not based on any negative opinion of Marcus personally. Despite this, the two of them gradually bond over their shared love of baking, as well as sharing their past experiences, and by the time Marcus leaves, the two of them are friends.

Later, on the opening night of the Bear, Marcus receives a package in the mail from Luca, with a message that reads: "Make it worth it! Good luck.", along with a metal plaque that reads "Every Second Counts", which Luca places on the wall of the kitchen.

## Quotes

* *"You can throw down, huh?"* - Marcus in "System"

## Trivia

* Marcus has a best friend and roommate named Chester. They are both fans of the television series *The Bachelorette.*
* Marcus has a younger brother.
* Marcus has a cousin named Terrell. He once went to Michael Jordan's steakhouse for Terrell's graduation.