The Characters of Feed the Beast

Tommy Moran, played by the talented David Schwimmer, is a widower and a father to a ten-year-old, TJ. Tommy used to be a very highly decorated sommelier. Somehow, he is working for a wholesale wine company selling wines. To say that this is not what Tommy wants to be doing with his life would be an understatement. He is in pain, still grieving over his late wife, Rie. A car hit and killed her. Tommy and TJ live alone together in a sort of warehouse. TJ is not speaking a word to anyone since the death of his mother. He has been traumatized by the loss and by witnessing the accident.

Jim Sturgess on his character, Dion Patras, “My character is in a world of problems within the first scene of the story”. Dion is a drug addict, and he is a dreamer. He is also an amazing chef and quite the charmer. In the first episode, we see him in prison, but he is cooking for the guards. He is then released early, and we see that he has no idea why. At least not at first. Dion immediately sees his best friend Tommy and we can feel the connection and the history that these two men share. They are not real brothers, but they have a brotherly bond. Tommy and TJ are all the family that Dion has (other than his uncle). Even though Tommy is still there for Dion, Tommy felt abandoned by Dion when he went to prison. Tommy feels like he had to go through the loss of his wife alone and his best friend was not there to support him.

Patrick (Michael Gladis) is known as the “tooth fairy” because he has been known to take a tooth or two from his victims. He is the son of a mob boss that’s in prison. He is a bit of a sadist, but he is complex, and it seems he has a soft side. He has good taste; he knows that Dion is an excellent chef. Patrick seems like he is charmed by Dion (as most people are). There is a bit of history there between them that we are barely starting to see. Patrick has a troubled relationship with his father, Ziggy, just like Tommy and his father, Aidan.

Pilar (Lorenza Izzo) She meets Tommy in the grief group. We like her from the beginning because she seems sweet and innocent. However, we soon learn the truth (or part of it at least) when she goes to work, and we find out that she is not a restaurant manager as she told Tommy. We are then curious as to why she lied. It seems like it may be just to get to know him more personally, but maybe there is more to it. The speech that Tommy gives in the grief group is so emotional and so heartfelt that Pilar feels the love and the anguish that he is feeling over the loss of his late wife, Rie. We are led to believe that this might be the driving force for Pilar's lying as well as her interest in Tommy. She seems to feel he is a kindred spirit because she is there grieving over her late husband.

Detective Giordano (Michael Rispoli, known for his role as Big Joe in Kick-Ass) He is a "crooked cop" and we immediately dislike him. He harasses and threatens Dion to get him to work with him. He wants Dion to give him info on Patrick and his mob. Dion does this reluctantly. Giordano hates Patrick because he was once one of Patrick's victims and had a tooth pulled by him.

Marisa Bruno (Erin Cummings) She plays Dion's lawyer, and we soon find out that they have had a steamy affair. She is a clingy woman. She starts out wanting to help Dion and wanting him to be with her in a real relationship, but once she gets "blown off" by Dion, she turns tough and does not let him into her life. This tough act of hers does not last. She cares about Dion, and she wants him to care about her, but Dion is not the type to settle down with just one woman. Marisa seems to realize it, and she recruits a fellow female to "keep an eye on him" and report whether or not Dion is with any other females. This plan of hers may not be a good idea on her part. She may or may not have chosen an ally as she believes.

TJ (Elijah Jacob) This up and coming young actor must have a difficult time not being able to speak throughout and the entire season, but he is brilliant at it. TJ is mourning the loss of his mother, being bullied at school and dealing with the realization that some people may treat him differently just because he is black as Dion says. TJ is a very intelligent and very loving and sensitive kid. Hopefully, we'll get to see him develop as an actor through seasons to come.

Aidan Moran (the beloved John Doman) Aidan is Tommy's father; he is “old school”. Aidan thinks what Tommy does as a sommelier is poncy. Aidan is a business man, and Dion comes up with the idea to go to him for the startup money to open the restaurant. He agrees on the condition that he gets to spend time with his grandson, TJ. Tommy dislikes this plan but reluctantly agrees because TJ shows that he wants to spend time with his grandfather as well. There are hints that Aidan was physically abusive to Tommy especially when Tommy yells at him saying “You are not doing that to him too.” This dialogue leads us to believe that Aidan abused Tommy as a child.

And last, but not least, is Rie Moran, Tommy’s late wife (Christine Adams) She was a beautiful and talented chef. She was very close with Dion as they worked together as chefs. They complemented each other's work. Rie had a plan to open a restaurant, and she put all of her ideas into a scrapbook. When Dion gets out of prison, he has to come up with money to pay Patrick. He uses the scrapbook to pull at Tommy's heart and to get him to agree to open a restaurant. We see Rie in flashbacks, but her story seems to be a very important one and only beginning to be revealed.

Twitter: @Chi_DMB

Teresa Candelario