Ramy Youssef, known for directing episodes of The Bear and his own series Ramy, shared that Yorgos Lanthimos, the filmmaker behind Poor Things, motivated him to embark on his feature directorial debut.
During the 2024 Golden Globes, Youssef told IndieWire that Lanthimos recommended he cease directing television and, instead, venture into filmmaking. “You know, Yorgos told me to stop making TV, and go make movies,” Youssef said. “So I’ve been thinking a lot about that.”
Youssef said Christopher Storer, who co-created The Bear, invited him to come back and direct an episode for Season 3. “The other day, Chris told me I’m allowed to direct more ‘Bear,’” Youssef said. “I got the thumbs up. So hopefully we can kind of make the timing, right? But it was such a great experience.”
Regarding the possibility of teaming up with Poor Things director Lanthimos once more as an actor, Youssef said, “You know, Yorgos is very mysterious. But he’s really cool because he does everything with so much intent, and he’s so specific, and I think that’s why everything really works. So it’s exciting to just kind of be part of this repertoire.”
In Poor Things, Youssef takes on the role of Max McCandles, a medical student who becomes the assistant to disfigured surgeon Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), as they revive Bella Baxter (Emma Stone).
Youssef’s Hulu series Ramy launched its third season in the fall of 2022, and as of now, there’s no information on the release date for Season 4.
