Who Plays Lee on ‘The Bear’ Season 2? Meet Carmy’s Intense Uncle

By Michael Haskoor @Tweetskoor
Published June 24, 2023, 11:21 a.m. ET

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The Bear Season 2 Episode 6 “Fishes” on FX showcases the Berzatto family’s dysfunction and reveals a potential whole new side of Mikey’s (Jon Bernthal) business dealings.

The star-studded 66-minute episode strays from The Bear’s traditional format, taking us back five years into the past where Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), Natalie (Abby Elliot), and their late brother Mikey are struggling to survive Christmas dinner. There, fans are introduced to their intense Uncle Lee, who seemingly has some beef with Mikey. But do you know who the actor behind Lee is?

While Season 2 continues to center on Carmy and Sydney’s (Ayo Edebiri) attempts to expand The Beef’s menu and transform the business, it also provides us with some more background info about the family’s history with the restaurant. In this masterpiece of an episode, viewers also get to meet Fak’s brother Theodore (Ricky Staffieri), Cousin Michelle (Sarah Paulson), her husband Steven (John Mulaney), Richie’s then wife Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs), as well as the family’s matriarch Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis).

Who exactly is Lee in The Bear on FX? And who plays him? Here’s everything you need to know about Carmy’s Uncle Lee and Bob Odenkirk, the actor who plays him.

Can’t get enough of The Bear Season 2? For more insight, analysis, GIFs, and close-ups of Carmy’s arms, check out all of Decider’s episodic recaps:

Who is Lee in The Bear on FX?

Lee is Carmy’s Uncle who attended the Berzatto family’s Christmas dinner five years ago in The Bear Season 2 Episode 6 “Fishes.” Lee seems to have animosity towards Mikey, trading passive-aggressive remarks with him until they go off on each other at the dinner table, resulting in Mikey angrily throwing forks at Lee. This prompts Lee to scream at Mikey that he’s “nothing” in front of the family.

Since Lee is one of three names that were on Mikey’s money-stuffed tomato sauce cans, it’s safe to assume that he will reappear at some point on The Bear.

That’s who Lee is on the show, but who is he in real life?

Who Plays Lee in The Bear? Meet Bob Odenkirk

If actor Bob Odenkirk looks familiar to you, that’s probably because you’ve seen him in TV shows such as Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad or Lucky Hank. He was also the star of his own 2021 action film titled Nobody.

The 60-year-old actor was born on October 22, 1962 in Berwyn, Illinois and got his start in the industry as a comedy writer for Saturday Night Live as well as a few other other late night shows. He was responsible for discovering the comedy duo Tim & Eric in the early 2000’s and is also known for his HBO sketch comedy series with David Cross, titled Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995–1998).

You can follow Bob Odenkirk on Instagram at @threalbobodenkirk.