MOLLY GORDON writes her own ticket

“I’ve never been in something that people watch,” says Molly Gordon, “which is a very different experience.”

- Rebecca Ford

She’s talking about her breakout turn in the bittersweet Emmy favorite The Bear and underselling her résumé a little: She’s been on Ramy and Animal Kingdom, as well as indie movies like Booksmart. But it’s true that playing the woman trying to get into the locked freezer of Carmy’s heart has put a more intense spotlight on Gordon. “Carmy is a character that people feel so protective over, and it’s been kind of controversial to bring a romantic element into the show,” she says. “That’s been at times annoying, fascinating, and interesting—just to be a part of something that people have opinions on.”

Gordon will have to get used to it. The Bear’s fourth season and her Sundance road trip movie Oh, Hi! both premiere this summer. In Oh, Hi! she plays a woman who goes to surprising lengths to convince her boyfriend to commit. Gordon worked with writer-director Sophie Brooks on the story for the dark comedy, which allows her to portray the sort of intense character she’s always hunting around for. “We don’t really get to be crazy,” she says. “There’s just still not that many great female characters out there—the kind of wild characters usually played by men.”

Before