Since The Bear is one of the most acclaimed TV shows of the modern era, it seems like every major actor wants to be part of it. Even though The Bear star Ebon Moss-Bachrach was initially against the show’s cameos, Jamie Lee Curtis went on to impress Jeremy Allen White on the show. On top of Jamie Lee Curtis turning heads on The Bear, the list of the show’s other cameo appearances is very long, to say the least.

One superstar actor who has twice appeared on The Bear is Sarah Paulson. Even after winning awards and starring in blockbuster movies, it turns out that Sarah did something unusual to get cast in The Bear and was intimidated to appear on the show.

How Sarah Paulson Landed Her The Bear Cameo Role

Since Sarah Paulson is one of the most successful actors of her generation, fans may assume that she never has to fight for a role. As it turns out, however, things aren’t that simple for Sarah based on what she has revealed in the past.

After Sarah made her first cameo appearance on The Bear, she spoke about how she wound up starring in the most memorable episode ever. Despite how successful she has been for years, Sarah landed her The Bear role in a way that fans wouldn’t have predicted.

In September 2024, Sarah spoke to IndieWire about her first appearance on The Bear.

While speaking to the outlet, Sarah explained that she reached out to The Bear’s creator, director, and showrunner, Chris Storer to express that she wanted to work with him.

“I had been a big fan and I had written to Chris Storer via Instagram when the show first came out, just sort of pledging my undying allegiance to him and said that I would do anything for him, any time he ever asked or wanted to.”

Based on everything that is known about the Hollywood ecosystem, the most successful actors typically don’t send Instagram DMs trying to land a role.

While Sarah’s Instagram outreach was unusual for someone in her position, it seems certain that she would have no regrets about sending that DM.

During her IndieWire interview, Sarah revealed that she was offered her The Bear role months later after sending the DM.

As a part of her IndieWire interview, Sarah revealed how she reacted to being offered her The Bear role.

Despite how busy she clearly is as an actor, Sarah explained that she didn’t bother learning anything about her role before saying yes to The Bear.

“I didn’t read it. I said, yes, I don’t need to read it and I don’t care whether I’m carrying a glass of water from one corner of the room to the next. I would like to be there.”

After her first episode of The Bear aired, it quickly became obvious that Sarah made the right choice.

Sarah made her first appearance on The Bear during an episodes titled “Fishes.” Since that episode aired, it has widely been regarded as one of The Bear’s best episodes ever.

In June 2025, Esquire named “Fishes” as the second-best episode of The Bear ever. In December 2023, Mashable published an article debating whether “Fishes” or “Forks” is the best The Bear episode ever. These are two of many examples of “Fishes” receiving near universal praise.

Why Sarah Paulson Was “Intimidated” To Take Her The Bear Role

During the aforementioned IndieWire interview, Sarah Paulson spoke about how she felt when she was offered her first appearance on The Bear. Even though she sought out the role, Sarah explained that she felt somewhat freaked out when she filmed her first The Bear appearance.

From the moment that IndieWire asked her about the first The Bear episode she appeared in, Sarah explained how “intimidated” she was when she first arrived on set.

For anyone who doesn’t remember, “Fishes” featured a star-studded cast and incredibly intense scenes. “Fishes” featured several of The Bear’s main stars, Sarah Paulson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Oliver Platt, Gillian Jacobs, John Mulaney, Bob Odenkirk, and Jon Bernthal.

As she continued to talk IndieWire about filming “Fishes,” Sarah explained that the episode’s stellar cast is what “intimated” her.

However, Sarah explained that previously co-starring with Ebon Moss-Bachrach in the movie Hold Your Breath allowed her to feel a little more comfortable. ‘I was just so grateful that I had a friend in Ebon who I just spent all this time with in Santa Fe doing a really different type of piece. We had to do all this crazy s*** together, so I felt very comfortable and comforted to see him across that insane Christmas dinner table, knowing that I had a friend there. And I knew Jamie Lee from before too, so that was nice also.”

Finally, Sarah told IndieWire that she had no idea that “Fishes” would become the classic The Bear episode it is now known as.

“It was quite a thing to be a part of, and I certainly didn’t know that it was going to become this sort of seminal episode of the show. I didn’t know that that was gonna happen. I knew that the acting was insane that was happening around me, but I didn’t know that it was going be that episode.”

Based on Sarah’s comments about how much she ultimately enjoyed being part of “Fishes,” it makes sense that she returned to the show for another episode.