Seacoast New Hampshire ties are abundant in A24’s “Tony,” a biopic about one eye-opening summer in the life of late chef, writer and television personality Anthony Bourdain.
Amy Greene and Chris Stinson, Portsmouth filmmakers and frequent collaborators, helped produce the movie, while Seacoast-born actors Caroline Portu and Elle Shaheen appear in the film. Bridget Keefe, a Stratham native, worked in the set decoration department.
“It means the world. I think he is such an important person to so many people in the world,” Greene said of Bourdain, who died by suicide in 2018. “Hopefully we did it justice and people feel good about the film. I certainly do.”
Greene was the stunt coordinator for “Tony,” while she and Stinson also both worked as executive producers for the film, which was shot in Cape Cod in summer 2025.
The two reunited with up-and-coming leading man Dominic Sessa, whom they partnered with on the set of the 2023 Academy Award-winning film “The Holdovers.”
The new biopic stars Sessa as the 19-year-old Bourdain, a Vassar College student turned down for a writing fellowship who ventures to Cape Cod for the summer. The chef of a Provincetown restaurant, played by Oscar-nominated Spanish actor Antonio Banderas, takes Bourdain under his wing as the youngster ultimately sets his sights on a career in the kitchen.
The film borrows anecdotes from Bourdain’s 2000 memoir “Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly” and stories from Provincetown locals who recalled his presence on the island years ago, according to Greene and Stinson. The opening line is taken directly from the pages of Bourdain’s bestseller: “I was — to be frank — a spoiled, miserable, narcissistic, self-destructive and thoughtless young lout, and badly in need of a good (expletive)-kicking.”
“Tony” premiered to select audiences Friday, Aug. 7 and is set for a Friday, Aug. 21 nationwide release.
Cape Cod connections revived in making ‘Tony’
For four summers during college, Stinson lived with friends in a trailer park in Wellfleet, making memories that parallel those of Bourdain’s portrayed in the movie.
In between beach bonfires, surfing and sneaking into the Wellfleet Drive-In Theater, Stinson would create short films using his VHS camcorder and frequent favorite spots in Provincetown, including Old Colony Tap, The Governor Bradford restaurant and Spiritus Pizza.
“I was like, ‘Man, one day it would be so fun to film a movie here,’” Stinson recalled.
Chef Eric Ripert, a close friend of Bourdain’s in real life, made a cameo in the film, with Stinson appearing alongside him in the final shot for a few seconds. In between takes, Stinson and Ripert bonded over Bourdain’s death and Stinson’s 2024 loss of his best friend Christopher Barnett, a successful chef who once worked for Ripert.
Shooting “Tony,” Stinson reconnected with old friends from his years in Provincetown, many of whom worked as extras during filming, as the crew navigated peak summertime crowds. After long days on set, he’d try his hardest to visit his old haunts and visit the beaches with the crew.
Among those establishments is Van Rensselaer’s Restaurant and Raw Bar in South Wellfleet, where Stinson worked during his Cape Cod summers. He remembers being on the receiving end of accidental burns in the kitchen and the satisfaction of emerging from a stressful shift with his coworkers.
“It was a real introduction to him falling in love with him working in a kitchen, which is something I can really relate to,” Stinson said of the movie’s take on Bourdain.
Greene is a fan of the globally-renowned Bourdain, who worked as an executive chef for years after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in 1978. On a trip to Tokyo, Greene ordered chicken sashimi at a restaurant because Bourdain once ate the delicacy.
The stunt expert called the action in “Tony” she helped direct as “the bingo card of stunt work,” including work with fire, speeding cars, prop weapons and boating.
“My love of Anthony Bourdain got me to like the script so much, but I also like that it’s just one month in his life,” said Greene.
The movie was directed by Matt Johnson, who is listed as a lead producer along with Tim White, Trevor White and Matthew Miller.
Two Seacoast women appear in ‘Tony’
Stratham’s own Caroline Portu and Portsmouth native Elle Shaheen both acted in the film.
Shaheen auditioned for several roles in “Tony” through Boston Casting, but set it aside after not hearing from executives. Then, during the filming of “Tony,” she got a call asking if she could come to Cape Cod the next day to act in one scene for a newly written role.
The role, implied to be the partner of a waitress character in the film, is labeled “Mysterious Woman” on IMDb. Shaheen agreed, then appeared on set the next day to film her one scene, spending the day under the setting sun and discussing musical theater with Banderas.
Beach scenes in the movie reminded Shaheen of summers growing up in Seacoast New Hampshire. She now splits time between Portsmouth and Los Angeles and was grateful for the chance to be in a film with Portu, who she acted with as a child at the Seacoast Repertory Theatre.
“It’s a sliver of who he was at that time in his life,” Shaheen said of the film’s depiction of Bourdain. “I think it’s really cool to provide context for who he was before he fell in love with cooking and went down this path with traveling and cooking.”
Stinson and Greene received the script from A24 for “Tony” while filming “The Drama” in Boston, a movie starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson that was released in April. The two hope both films receive buzz next awards season after their work on “The Sound of Metal,” a 2019 drama, and “The Holdovers” contributed to both films being recognized at the Academy Awards.
(This story has been updated to clarify the contribution to “Tony” made by Greene and Stinson, and to clarify the work on stunts in the film.)
If you need help
The National Alliance on Mental Illness – New Hampshire offers the following resources to those in distress:
- NH Rapid Response Access Point – Call/Text 1-833-710-6477 – If you or someone you care about is experiencing a mental health and/or substance use crisis, you can call and speak to trained and caring clinical staff. You’ll be served by compassionate providers from mental health centers in your community who can help you access vital resources in an emergency.
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – Call or text 988 for 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. (Chat option is also available at 988lifeline.org.)
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald. Reporting by Ian Lenahan, Portsmouth Herald
