I don’t know why it still surprises people when I confess my love for Stanley Tucci. He makes his negroni’s with citrus imported from Capri! His voice is both soothing and sexy! He’s a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic! He makes cocktails for his wife before 11:30am! Okay, I’m taking a breath.
My first taste of The Tucc was his character Link in Shall We Dance, an iconic movie about ballroom dancing, also starring Jennifer Lopez, Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon. Apart from the fact the movie is just a downright gem with the perfect cocktail of rich storyline, great dance scenes, sexual tension and actually good writing, Tucci’s character makes the film.
Link is a corporate who pretends to be into sports but is actually obsessed with Latin dancing. He’s an outsider, an effeminate straight man who loves sequins, a man who doesn’t quite know how to be himself in the “real” world. He is literally all of us and he is FABULOUS. Plus, did you know that Stanley Tucci can cha cha cha?
Then, there’s Nigel from The Devil Wears Prada. He’s funny, he’s sensitive, he’s talented and he wears the hell out of a turtleneck. In the crazy world of fashion editorial that’s portrayed in this film, he’s the one you want to know.
He’s the hilariously protective and open-minded dad in Easy A, he’s the blue-haired, fake-tanned, whitened-teeth TV personality Caesar Flickerman in The Hunger Games, he’s the overworked eccentric lawyer in Spotlight and, even when he’s the serial killer in The Lovely Bones, he still manages to astound with his performance of a character so far from his own.
Stanley Tucci is human and in every role he plays, every talk show he’s on, every IGTV cocktail tutorial he uploads… I can’t help but want to be sitting on the other side of the bench, jazz record in the background, and honestly, I don’t think I’m the only one.
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So, you can imagine my absolute delight when one day, I was listening to my favourite author Dolly Alderton’s podcast Love Stories, and she announced Tucci as her guest, absolutely bursting with excitement. I felt seen! That was the day that I learnt Stanley Tucci had written his own cookbooks, inspired by Italy.
You mean to tell me that this romantic, charismatic, bald man, with impeccable taste in spectacles and turtlenecks, who can cha cha cha and jive and make negroni’s with style, also knows how to cook? I mean, ladies and gentlemen if you’re ever feeling disheartened that there aren’t good people in the world; think again. All you need to do is consume anything Tucci and your faith in humanity will be restored.
Trust me, I’ve got his cookbooks and they’re incredible. His dishes are simple in flavour and method; classic Italian recipes with a little pinch of quintessential Tucci pizazz.
My love affair with Stanley Tucci isn’t going away anytime soon, and thank god for that. His characters, his recipes and his social media content give me life. It’s actually refreshing to have a long-lasting appreciation for someone famous who doesn’t crush you with their terrible behaviour and who you admire more than just an aesthetic.
Luckily for me (and you), Tucci has just launched his new project, a CNN TV show called Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy. It’s as good as it sounds. Tucci travels Italy meeting people, trying new foods, discovering history and learning to create traditional food from the source.
I’ve only watched the first episode so far, but it’s bloody beautiful. In Australia, we can only watch it via YoutubeTV, but it’s worth the investment.