Anthony Bourdain to be played by NJ actor in biopic

Anthony Bourdain was more than a celebrity chef. He was a raconteur, a curious culinary dare taker and, of course, a Jersey guy.

While his best-selling books, then work in television brought him to all places of the globe, he always had a soft spot for New Jersey and dedicated all of episode 5 season 5 of “Parts Unknown” to his home state.

In a hotel room in France, he took his own life by hanging himself. He was 62.

(Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Dominic Sessa is an actor who grew up in Egg Harbor Township and Ocean City. He lost his father at 14 years old.

His mother, a schoolteacher, later arranged for him to attend the Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, a prep school.

It was there he got into theater and excelled, then got the break of a lifetime when the movie “The Holdovers” came to film at the academy.

They allowed students to audition for a role in the film and Sessa got it. He went on to win multiple awards for his work in that Oscar-nominated film. He’s 21.

(Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)

And he’s just been picked to play Anthony Bourdain in an upcoming biopic.

It is not yet known what time period of Bourdain’s life will be covered in this film and while Sessa bears a reasonable resemblance to a young Bourdain, it will be interesting to see how the actor handles it if he must play older.

It’s also a heck of challenge. When an actor is playing a fictional character he can make the character his own.

Doing a biopic is different.

He’ll be judged not only on how well he’s acting but how accurately he’s capturing the real-life celebrity chef and author.

It will be interesting to have a Jersey guy portraying another Jersey guy.

This won’t be Sessa’s second movie.

He’s already filmed “Tow” in which he acted with Rose Byrne and Demi Lovato. And, he’s been cast in other upcoming projects like “Oh. What. Fun.” a Christmas movie with Denis Leary and Eva Longoria plus “Now You See Me 3” with Jesse Eisenberg due out in November of next year.