I feel like, at this point, Jeremy Allen White is a household name thanks to The Bear and the release of projects like Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere on the 2025 movie schedule. However, he’s actually been working and well-known for a long time now, especially if you go to Chicago. That was proven when the Shameless actor found himself in a situation in the Windy City where his bodyguard was trying to protect him from a gaggle of girls.
In Jeremy Allen White’s words, he’s “extra famous” in Chicago thanks to his work on The Bear and Shameless. So, he has to take some extra precautions when he’s there. That means working with a security guard named Moody, as he described on The Graham Norton Show:
After the first season [of The Bear] was as successful as it was, they gave me a security guard, this wonderful man named Moody, and Moody follows me around on set everywhere. There’s one particular evening, we were shooting on location in Chicago, and we were very near a school, a college. And there was kind of a group of mostly very small, young women that were excited to see everybody there.
Now, considering White says he gets recognized frequently and he has smooth methods for avoiding people realizing he’s him, it makes sense that he’d have security, especially in Chicago. However, in this story, our guy Moody took things a bit too far.
Continuing this tale about The Bear cast being near a group of young female fans, the actor said:
And they were kind of barricaded very far away from where we were shooting. And I kind of get out of the van, and I’m approaching, and they all kind of shout out. Again, they may be 20 yards away. They start shouting, and Moody, this very large man, lifts me in the air by my hips, carries me up the stairs, shoves me in the door as if these young women were really gonna get me.
Listen, I’m all for caution. Also, Jeremy Allen White is an Emmy winner, a very respected actor, and a heartthrob, so he has enthusiastic fans. And, as he said, he’s “extra famous” in Chicago because he has starred in two major shows that are filmed there. Therefore, when his security clocked this group, he did what he thought was necessary to protect The Iron Claw star. However, it turned out not to be necessary.
The gaggle of girls was not a threat, according to White, and being lifted out of the situation was not needed. The Bear star told Moody that too, explaining:
I remember telling him, ‘Please do not ever, ever grab me by the hips again.’ It was so, so insane, and he felt very bad. I love you, Moody, if you’re seeing this. It’s all OK. But it was a wild, wild thing that he did.
It’s a wild thing to pick any adult up by their hips to move them, but trying to imagine this happening to award-winning actor Jeremy Allen White is wilder.
Now, when he returns to film Season 5 of The Bear, I’d be curious to see what kind of protective measures are in place. Every year, as new seasons become available to those with a Hulu subscription, the cast gets more famous, and I can’t help but wonder how it changes their experiences while filming, specifically in Chicago.
Clearly, they have security who are committed to keeping them safe. However, hopefully, they learned a lesson here and know there is probably no need to literally lift Jeremy Allen White out of an area when there is no imminent danger.