ABBY ELLIOTT, A SECOND-GENERATION SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE COMEDIAN AND ACTRESS, STARS AS NATALIE ‘SUGAR’ BERZATTO, THE COMPASSIONATE AND EMPATHETIC SISTER OF CARMEN, IN THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED CULINARY DRAMEDY THE BEAR. WHILE FANS EAGERLY AWAIT TO DELVE INTO MORE CHOPPED RELATIONSHIPS IN THE UPCOMING FOURTH SEASON, ELLIOTT REFLECTS WITH US ON THE PIVOTAL MOMENTS FROM SEASON THREE. UP NEXT, SHE IS ALSO SET TO PORTRAY LIA IN THE ADAPTATION OF ANDREA MARA'S BEST-SELLING NOVEL ALL HER FAULT – PLAYING A QUIRKY SISTER-IN-LAW SEARCHING FOR HER MISSING NEPHEW ALONGSIDE SARAH SNOOK, DAKOTA FANNING, AND MICHAEL PEÑA. FOR BTB, ELLIOTT DISCUSSES HER BIGGEST SNL LESSONS, BECOMING FRIENDS WITH HER ON-SCREEN MOTHER JAMIE LEE CURTIS, AND EMBODYING A WILD CHILD THAT IS HER LATEST CHARACTER.

You were part of the Saturday Night Live cast that defined my childhood. What lessons did you take from that experience into your current roles?

SNL is this kind of machine that is like all of the show business in one studio, essentially. And in that show, especially, you're competing with your peers for airtime. I had to learn how to write for myself there and advocate for myself. Also learn what I was good at, where my strengths were and what needed work.

Transitioning from comedic impressions to more serious dramatic roles like Natalie in The Bear, how did that shift work for you?

I always loved acting. When I started out, that was kind of the goal. I did a lot of theatre in high school, and then when I moved out to LA, I was just auditioning as much as possible and taking a lot of acting classes. I feel like SNL was always something that I loved, I just never knew if I would fit in there at all. I feel like I found a rhythm with this sort of dramedy acting but I still love straight-up comedies as well.

Left Shirt and denim **Levi’s**, shoes **Paris Texas**
Right Full look **Rowen Rose**

Did you learn anything from your character that you carry with you?

I would say so. Natalie's extremely caring and empathetic. She feels really hard and really wants to immerse herself in her siblings' lives. I definitely relate to that. She's a mom now, so she's trying to balance her relationship with her husband and being a mom and her loyalty to her brother in the restaurant. I think that's kind of a universal mom thing: who am I? I have no time all of a sudden because I'm taking care of this little thing. And how do I make the time without completely ignoring one part of my life?

What was the hardest scene to film so far?

The birth episode with Jamie [Lee Curtis] was hard. Talking with her and feeling the physical pain of the contractions, then the emotional pain of her past and the trauma and then also the push and pull of really needing her and wanting her to go away at the same time. On top of that, just making sure that the contractions felt real. I had just given birth around nine months prior, and I did have my mom in the room with me, and she filmed some of my contractions. So I was trying to emulate them as much as possible. You see so many birth scenes on TV that are just not realistic. I also really liked that at the end of the episode, it wasn't written that I have a baby in my arms because it's not really what that episode is about. The birth is there, but it's about a mother and daughter relationship.

Left Coat **Rowen Rose**, tights **Falke**, shoes **Manc**
Right Full look **Patou**

The mother-daughter dynamic was heartbreaking to watch. How did you and Jamie work together to develop that layered relationship?

We became friends after season two. The day before, we were like, “Should we rehearse? No, let's just see what happens.” And we shot it all pretty quickly. We did around twenty pages of dialogue in two hours with three cameras set up in the room and a lot of bouncing around and quiet moments and finding our way back to the script. It just felt very natural and beautiful.

That ice chip scene with Jamie felt like a beautiful metaphor—breaking the ice between your characters. Was that scripted?

It was scripted, actually. Our wonderful writer, Joanna Calo, she's also a mom of two. I'm assuming she drew from her own experience with ice chips. This is a show about food. And here they are eating just the most simple cold, I can't say food, but ice chips. There's something really cool about that.

Up next, you’re starring in a thriller series All Her Fault. What drew you to this role?

My character is very different. She has a dramatic turn, but she's also a wild child and she's kind of a loose cannon. It was really fun to play this character who is kind of on the kookier side in a drama. Making it believable and not veer too big or comedic and having her be someone that people can relate to and people know.

What was it like working with such a talented cast?

I made such great friends on the shoot. Sarah Snook and I met at the Golden Globes last year. We were both postpartum, and we were pumping together. I just love her. Our kids are around the same age, and we had a lot of fun. She showed us around Melbourne and introduced us to [her] friends.

Jacket **Heurueh**, tights **Falke**, shoes **Celine by Hedi Slimane**

You’re both mothers, how did you deal with the emotional weight of the storyline?

After the first table read, I just hugged her, and I was like, “Oh my god. We have to go home and be with our babies.” And that was a challenge too, of going home every day after being in a place of grief and fear. Playing that all day when the subject matter was so heavy and then going home to make our kids laugh and to tickle them. You gotta leave it at the office.

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Discover the full story in our SS25 Issue - out now.

Interview by Gabrielle Valda Colas

Photography by Emmanuel Giraud

Fashion by Laura Cheron

Casting by Imagemachine cs

Production by Sophie Meister at Production Berlin Group

Production Manager Gustavo Hernandez

Hair by Gareth Bromell

Make-Up by Laure Dansou