Will Poulter has looked at the opioid epidemic from both sides — as a pharmaceutical rep pushing a new drug, OxyContin, in “Dopesick,” the 2021 Hulu series, and now as an addict in rural Ohio navigating a state-mandated rehabilitation program in the movie “Union County,” out Aug. 14.
“If ‘Dopesick’ raised the awareness around this epidemic, ‘Union County’ arguably answers the question of what can be done in terms of how we view people who have substance abuse disorder and are committed to recovery,” the British actor said. “It also highlights a very workable program that is incredibly dignified and humanizing and scientifically supported and proven to be successful.”
Poulter lives in London but recently spent time in New Jersey shooting “Rabbit, Rabbit,” an upcoming Netflix hostage thriller starring Adam Driver. He also appeared earlier this year in the Boots Riley film “I Love Boosters.”
But it’s FX’s “The Bear,” in which he plays a pastry chef from Copenhagen, that he considers life-changing.
“I always said if I wasn’t an actor, I would’ve loved to have gone to culinary school and tried my hand at making it as a chef,” Poulter said in a video call before elaborating on why the bar Sip & Guzzle, the restaurant Hoyo’s Kitchen and the book “Unreasonable Hospitality” made his list.
These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
Seline and Pasjoli in Santa Monica, Calif.
Both of these restaurants belong to Dave Beran, who I got the opportunity to train under in preparation for “The Bear.” He’s just this incredibly talented guy who heads up two really, really lovely teams, both at Pasjoli, which is his neighborhood bistro, and Seline, which is his fine dining restaurant. In recent weeks he won Best Chef: California at the James Beard Awards, and he got his first Michelin star for Seline.
Anti-Bullying Program
They’re an amazing organization based here in the U.K., but their program’s available internationally and is growing. Their approach to bullying is not one of treatment or reactive, but rather prevention through a peer-to-peer mentorship program. They train young people to create kinder, safer, happier, more conscious social environments within schools.
‘Unreasonable Hospitality’ by Will Guidara
I got the chance to work with Will [a former owner of Eleven Madison Park] and his philosophy is amazing. I recommend “Unreasonable Hospitality” to everyone, not because it requires you to be interested in the world of hospitality as we know it, but because the principles can be applied to virtually every relationship in your life. It really emphasizes the power of small gestures and random acts of kindness.
Courtney Storer
Her brother Chris Storer is the showrunner of “The Bear,” and Courtney is really head of food, if you like, and therefore in charge of probably the most important character. She is the person who bought me my first-ever professional piece of cookware — a pan that you use almost exclusively for cooking French omelets. She deserves her flowers.
City Harvest
They’re in the business of food recovery and making sure that surplus food is redistributed to people who are experiencing food insecurity. You can volunteer to help them out at their facility in New York.
Sip & Guzzle in the West Village
Just a really, really special bar doing really, really delicious food in New York. Their team embody the best of what it is to be hospitable and make people feel comfortable. The cocktails are amazing and the food is absolutely out of this world. Upstairs you feel like you are in an American tavern and then you go downstairs and it feels like you could be in Tokyo.
Hoyo’s Kitchen in Columbus, Ohio
It’s delicious Somalian cuisine and they were our favorite spot to go on the weekend. They also catered for us toward one of the last days of filming “Union County.” It was easily, with no disrespect to our catering team, one of the most exciting days on set.
Gnuhr
This is a fairly recent discovery, but now I am just absolutely obsessed with this company. I stopped a guy in the airport to ask him where his sweater was from because he looked so cozy and I’m a big fan of cozy travel wear. Their products are really, really beautiful, really, really well-crafted and well-designed.
‘Love on the Spectrum’
The show really has highlighted just so much kindness and brought so much understanding to the subject of autism. As someone who’s not on the spectrum, I learned a great deal from how neurodivergent folks treat each other with so much respect. The cast of “Love on the Spectrum” reaffirmed my faith in humanity and made me feel proud to be human.
Rainbow Railroad
They are an incredible organization committed to supporting queer folks who are experiencing often state-sanctioned prosecution for their sexual orientation in many, many countries. They’re in the business of supporting them to seek asylum and help them reach safety. It’s arguably one of the most important times in history to be thinking about the L.G.B.T.Q.+ community in respect to their safety.
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