Tony: A Summer on Cape Cod Reimagines Anthony Bourdain’s Early Years

“Tony” dramatizes a 1975 summer in which a 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain (Dominic Sessa) leaves his New Jersey home for a Cape Cod restaurant job, chasing a crush and confronting youthful recklessness. The film opened in limited U.S. theaters in early August and will expand later in the month. A Canadian rollout is scheduled for August 14 in Vancouver by A24.

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Director Matt Johnson, whose earlier work includes the largely improvised *Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie* (2026), chose to focus on this singular summer rather than a conventional “womb-to-tomb” biopic. Johnson described the film as a “true autobiography” hidden inside a Bourdain narrative, allowing him to explore his own childhood anxieties alongside the chef’s formative moments.

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The cast and crew spent roughly 25 shooting days on location in Cape Cod, including five days in Provincetown. The production used a loose, handheld camera style with zoom lenses, letting actors move freely within the kitchen set. Much of the dialogue, especially scenes featuring Stavros Halkias, was improvised, a departure for Sessa who previously worked on the tightly scripted *The Holdovers*. Antonio Banderas appears as the enigmatic “Chef,” whose mentorship mirrors the real-life influence of senior chefs on a young Bourdain.

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Johnson emphasized that the project was not meant to catalog Bourdain’s famous catchphrases but to capture the “personality distinction” between the disciplined, ethical side of the chef and his libertine, adventurous streak. Sessa said the role prompted him to reflect on recent personal behavior, altering his outlook on life and acting.

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• “I was always just kind of watching what (Banderas) was doing and taking it in,” — Dominic Sessa

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• “Matt, similar to the style of his other movies, just kind of had two camera ops doing a handheld situation, and they had zoom lenses, and we could kind of just be in the kitchen as we were. Stavros could go wherever he wanted and do, say whatever came to his mind,” — Dominic Sessa

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• “I know people watch my movies and say, ‘Oh, you’re just doing an impression of yourself,’” — Matt Johnson

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• “I met Dom at lunch and I looked at him and I thought, ‘I understand you,’” — Matt Johnson

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• “I was never like, ‘Do it like this or say it like this,’” — Matt Johnson

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• Shooting schedule: ~25 days total, including ~5 days in Provincetown.

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• Release pattern: limited U.S. theatrical debut in early August, followed by a wider expansion later that month; Vancouver release slated for August 14.

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The film’s Canadian premiere on August 14 marks the next major public showing, after which additional domestic screenings are expected as the wider release rolls out.

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