First trailer for Tony reveals Anthony Bourdain’s origin story in A24 biopic

The first trailer for Tony has landed, providing a glimpse into the early life of the late chef, unapologetic writer and global food icon Anthony Bourdain.

Set for release in cinemas this August, the new A24-produced film is directed by Matt Johnson (Blackberry, Operation Avalanche, The Dirties) and stars Dominic Sessa (The Holdovers) in the lead role. The film explores Bourdain’s formative years, focusing on the moment he first discovered a passion for cooking during a summer job in Cape Cod at the age of 19.

Alongside Sessa, the cast includes Antonio Banderas playing Ciro, a mentor figure who gives Bourdain his first cooking job, guiding him towards his culinary future, plus Emilia Jones, Leo Woodall, Dagmara Dominczyk, Rich Sommer and Stavros Halkias.

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The film traces how that early experience led Bourdain into New York’s restaurant scene, where he eventually worked in some of the city’s most respected kitchens before becoming a defining voice in food and travel television. His breakthrough came with Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, followed by the award-winning CNN series Parts Unknown, which blended global travel with food culture and storytelling.

Bourdain, who died in 2018 aged 61, is remembered as one of the most influential culinary voices of his generation. His estate has supported the film, noting it avoids trying to fully summarise his life and instead focuses on a single defining summer that shaped his future.

Director Matt Johnson has described the project as a close collaboration with Sessa, who remains on screen throughout, capturing the intensity and uncertainty of Bourdain’s early journey before he became a global cultural figure.

With its mix of kitchen drama, character study and origin story energy, Tony aims to show how one summer job sparked a career that would go on to reshape how audiences think about food, travel and storytelling to this day.

Stay tuned to the Skiddle blog for more details on Tony and other upcoming film releases through the year.

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Header image credit: A24 / Facebook.com