James "Cicero" Kalinowski, often referred to as Uncle Jimmy, is a recurring character in the comedy drama series The Bear. Jimmy is a close friend of the Berzatto family and loaned $300,000 to Mikey to help his restaurant The Original Beef of Chicagoland. He is portrayed by Oliver Platt.
Background[]
He is a close friend of the Berzatto family, and at one point loaned $300,000 to Mikey to fund his business venture in The Original Beef of Chicagoland, or simply referred to as The Beef.
Personality[]
Cicero is a transactional man with a relative soft spot for family.
Physical Description[]
Cicero is a heavy-set man with short, mostly grey hair that he wears combed back. He wears glasses, favoring thin, silver-framed aviator style frames.
Throughout the Series[]
Season 1[]
Cicero, also known as "Uncle Jimmy", is a family friend of Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto, his sister Natalie "Sugar" Berzatto, and their late brother Michael "Mikey" Berzatto. He's introduced as someone to whom Michael owed a significant debt of $300,000. Cicero offers to buy The Original Beef of Chicagoland, the rundown River North restaurant owned by Michael, from Carmy after Michael's recent suicide. However, Carmy refuses the offer and instead agrees to pay back his brother's loan.
Season 2[]
In Season 2, Cicero agrees to become a partner in the renovation of The Original Beef of Chicagoland sammie shop as it evolves into a fine dining restaurant they've named The Bear. Cicero agrees to loan Carmy an additional $500,000 in order to fund the renovations. The new loan makes the total borrowed from Cicero $800,000. That includes the $300,000 borrowed by Michael before season 1.
Carmy, Natalie and Sydney all contribute to pitching Cicero on why investing in The Bear would be a good idea. At first, Cicero is dubious about loaning any more money to Carmy, even with Natalie and Sydney presenting additional reasons in support. Cicero finally changes his mind when Carmy offers him an insane and desperate deal: If The Bear isn't able to pay off the $800,000 debt within 18 months time, Cicero gets the entire lot The Bear sits on. Cicero estimates the lot is worth "maybe" 2 million dollars. This is a deal Cicero can't pass up.
Season 3[]
Cicero, often referred to as Uncle Jimmy, plays a complex role as both investor and surrogate father figure to Carmy and Natalie. He frequently pressures Carmy about the restaurant’s financial performance, growing increasingly anxious about his investment and warning that he’ll have to pull out if things don’t improve.
Despite his bluntness, Cicero shows care and regret for not being more supportive when the Berzatto siblings were younger. He brings in Nicholas “the Computer” Marshall to help assess costs, but ultimately resists cutting emotional ties—even when advised to.
Season 4[]
Relationships[]
Appearances[]
| Season 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. System | Absent | ||
| 2. Hands | Appears | ||
| 3. Brigade | Absent | ||
| 4. Dogs | Appears | ||
| 5. Sheridan | Absent | ||
| 6. Ceres | Absent | ||
| 7. Review | Absent | ||
| 8. Braciole | Absent | ||
| Season 2 | |||
| 1. Beef | Appears | ||
| 2. Pasta | Absent | ||
| 3. Sundae | Absent | ||
| 4. Honeydew | Absent | ||
| 5. Pop | Appears | ||
| 6. Fishes | Appears | ||
| 7. Forks | Absent | ||
| 8. Bolognese | Appears | ||
| 9. Omelette | Appears | ||
| 10. The Bear | Appears | ||
| Season 3 | |||
| 1. Tomorrow | Appears | ||
| 2. Next | Appears | ||
| 3. Doors | Appears | ||
| 4. Violet | Absent | ||
| 5. Children | Appears | ||
| 6. Napkins | Absent | ||
| 7. Legacy | Absent | ||
| 8. Ice Chips | Absent | ||
| 9. Apologies | Appears | ||
| 10. Forever | Absent | ||
| Season 4 | |||
| 1. Groundhogs | Appears | ||
| 2. Soubise | Appears | ||
| 3. Scallop | Appears | ||
| 4. Worms | Absent | ||
| 5. Replicants | Absent | ||
| 6. Sophie | Absent | ||
| 7. Bears | Appears | ||
| 8. Green | Appears | ||
| 9. Tonnato | Appears | ||
| 10. Goodbye | Absent | ||
Quotes[]
Trivia[]
- Although he is referred to as their "uncle", his exact blood relationship to the Berzatto family is unspecified, though he does say that growing up he and Carmy's father were close in age, making them more like friends than family. In adulthood, he was also a business partner to Mr. Berzatto Sr (as explained in Dogs).
Gallery[]
