The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach Recalls Modeling in a Skimpy Swimsuit for Alison Roman’s Cookbook

Ebon Moss-Bachrach just opened up about the time he posed for a photo in a skimpy swimsuit, but it wasn’t for the type of publication you might think. 

During a Tuesday, Jan. 7, appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the actor, 47, was in for a surprise when the late-night host asked about a very obscure project from his résumé — a photo shoot he hoped would go unnoticed.

Kimmel, 57, then whipped out a copy of a particular cookbook that soon had the actor bursting into laughter.  

“This is crazy to me because I collect cookbooks, I have a lot of cookbooks,” Kimmel told Moss-Bachrach. “I have this cookbook; it’s called Sweet Enough by Alison Roman. This recipe for old-fashioned strawberry cake. There’s a photograph that goes along with it.” 

“I don’t even know if you’re allowed to show this picture,” said Moss-Bachrach as he erupted into laughter. 

Kimmel then drew attention to a sexy photo of a headless model holding a strawberry cake.

“That human torso belongs to ... you,” said Kimmel as the audience laughed out loud. 

The star of The Bear , too, could barely refrain from chuckling at the sight of the photo. 

“So I was [laughs]. These are novelty swim trunks,” he explained. 

“Yes they are!” quipped Kimmel as the audience hooted and hollered. “Let’s have a look at those novelty swim trunks. They seem to be painted on your body. Are they?”

“They’re like a youth medium,” replied Moss-Bachrach. 

Kimmel, who was clearly curious about how the sexy mystery photo came about, went prying for answers.

”How did they get you to do this?” he asked Moss-Bachrach.

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“Okay, so, Covid was a weird time,” the actor recalled as the audience laughed out loud. “This was taken at the beach by a dear friend. My friend Jesse Peretz, who’s like a wonderful host and a great director and has a big house in the north fork of Long Island. He’s a great host, always very generous, bringing people in.”

He continued: “And our good friend, Jenni Konner, who I met making Girls. I live to make Jenny laugh and so, I’m also known for, I like wearing Speedos. I like small bathing suits."

Moss-Bachrach went on to explain that he got the shorts to make Konner laugh, but while he was swimming at the beach in Long Island, someone else nearby took notice. 

“Unbeknownst to me, there was also a photo shoot for this cookbook happening the same day,” he recalled. “So I came out from swimming, and the suit worked, it made Jenny laugh. But these guys were also really into it, so they said, “Could we take a picture of you for this strawberry cake and I said, “Okay, sure, I get it, it’s hilarious.”

He continued: “The goggles are good, the chain looks nice, I had a good tan going, but I was like, ‘Please, I don’t want this to be associated with me. I don’t want my face — no. And no one will ever know. And here we are.” 

The photo eventually mades its way into Roman's cookbook and it remained a secret, at least until Kimmel outed him.

“Did you at least get to eat the cake?” asked Kimmel.

“Yeah,” replied the actor. 

“And now you’re on a show about food. That’s kind of great, right? It’s interesting, the way. Maybe that’s what really led you to The Bear.”

“Life is beguiling,” said Moss-Bachrach.