Duke’s Coach K Wants to Cameo in ‘The Bear,’ Sent Ayo Edebiri a Signed Copy of ‘Leading With the Heart’
variety.comEthan Shanfeld Mike Krzyzewski, better known as Duke’s iconic Coach K, had no idea his 2000 book, “Leading With the Heart,” would play a key role in FX’s hit restaurant dramedy “The Bear.” In fact, he had never heard of the show. “I got texts from people saying, ‘Your book is on “The Bear.”‘ I said, ‘What the hell [is] “The Bear”?’” Coach K said on a new episode of Duke’s “The Brotherhood Podcast.” Early on in Season 2 of the series, Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) is gifted a copy of Coach K’s inspirational book by her dad.
Sydney becomes obsessed with the book, subtitled “Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business and Life” and applies its lessons to developing The Bear restaurant and motivating the kitchen staff. “Leading With the Heart” becomes a major touchstone for the head chef throughout the season.
When asked if he is currently watching any TV shows, Coach K told “Brotherhood” host Ryan Young that he had just binged “The Bear.” “They actually talk about the book,” he said. “It ends up that the lead lady [Edebiri] is represented by CAA, and so am I.
So I just sent her an autographed book of ‘Leading With the Heart,’ and I told my agent, ‘In the future, if they keep going, why don’t I do a cameo?
Read more on variety.com