The acclaimed character actor not only steals scenes, but he’s also earned an online cult following for his way of mixing a Negroni.
The very funny, very charming Stanley Tucci was tracked down in London just before Christmas. « I feel English when I’m walking through here, » he said. « Do you really feel English? » asked correspondent Holly Williams. « Yeah, and I speak English when I walk through here! Yeah, just the language, not the accent! » Tucci is that actor who you’ve seen everywhere, often stealing scenes, sometimes entire movies. It’s earned him a cult following, though Tucci claims he doesn’t understand it. « People are saying that now. I don’t know what that is! » he laughed. « I think it means that you have people who watch a film for you, even if you’re not in the starring role, » said Williams. « I guess that people really like the variety of the performances, and that’s what I sort of revel in. I love that. » From an ideal husband to Meryl Streep’s Julia Child in « Julie & Julia, » to a deranged serial killer in « The Lovely Bones, » a role that won Tucci an Oscar nomination… and now « Supernova, » in which he and Colin Firth play a middle-aged gay couple. Tucci’s character is suffering from young onset dementia. Williams said, « One of the things that’s interesting is that the sexuality of the two main characters is not a theme in the film at all. It’s a universal love story. » « Yeah, people are starting to come around and understand that love is just love, » he said. Tucci helped get the film made, including sending the script to his friend, Colin Firth. « Having played a number of gay characters, you want to do it so that it’s, as you do with any character, you just want to be truthful to it. » « It’s been muted, but there has been criticism from some quarters saying that gay roles should be played by gay actors, » said Williams.
