Five minutes with actor and author Stanley Tucci: 'Food formed my identity'

Irish Examiner

13-05-2025

For American actor Stanley Tucci, there's a lot more to Italy than just pizza, pasta, sunshine, mandolins, and the mafia.
There are deep regional culinary traditions that highlight the rich history and complex connections behind Italian cuisine.
It's why the 64-year-old Devil Wears Prada and Conclave star, who is of Italian descent, decided to embark on an adventure in his new food and travel documentary, Tucci In Italy.
He hopes it will dispel some of the myths about the country of his heritage.
Across the National Geographic and Disney+ five-part series, the Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning actor explores Italy's landscapes across five different regions, including Tuscany, Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Abruzzo and Lazio.
He meets with fishermen, chefs, fellow foodies, artisans and even cowboys who share many untold stories about how food has shaped Italy's distinct culture.
Tucci, who also hosted CNN's Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy between 2021 and 2022, reintroduces viewers to undiscovered parts of Italy. He takes part in a Sienese feast in Tuscany, discovers innovative farm-to-table delicacies, and explores the timeless culinary rituals of Lazio, which highlight the region's rustic soul.
And for the first time, the author of What I Ate In One Year (And Related Thoughts) – his fourth book – visits Trentino-Alto Adige, where he tries pine needle pesto, and Abruzzo, where he immerses himself in wild seafood traditions on top of a trabocco, which is a centuries-old wooden fishing platform.
Tucci, who also stars as Caesar Flickerman in The Hunger Games film franchise, talks about why more people should go on culinary voyages, how food has inspired him whilst navigating the ebbs and flows of life, his evolving relationship with Italy, and creating family traditions around food.
HOW HAVE YOU USED FOOD AS AN INSPIRATION WHILE NAVIGATING THE EBBS AND FLOWS OF LIFE?
We are what we eat, right? I grew up in a family that put great importance on food. All of Italy does that. But it formed my identity. So much of the way I view the world is through my mouth. So much of life comes in gustatorily, and it forms who you are, because you're taught from an early age to pay attention to food. Not just to what it tastes like, but where it comes from, how it's made, the colour of it, and the combination of seasonings used.
When you're brought up like that, you just can't help but think that way, unless it's like, imposed upon you, then people run in the other direction.
So, I think I couldn't help but end up thinking about food all the time. And the first movie that I co-wrote and co-directed (Big Night) was about food. Though it was not meant to be a food movie, it turned out to be one. Food was just a way to tell the story.
Stanley Tucci: "Every time I go to Italy, I feel more and more connected and comfortable there. We were very specific about where we were going to position ourselves, so it's not just a guy talking about food – that's boring."
But after that, I just became more and more interested in it. That movie also opened doors for me that I never thought would be opened. I was able to get to know chefs, get inside kitchens, write stuff about food and learn a lot more.
I then had the idea for this show about 20 years ago, and then eventually we were able to bring it to fruition. So it's not only just a part of who I am. It's almost eclipsing my day job, which is the unsteady job of being an actor. I don't want it to do that. I'd like to do both, but it is very much a part of who I am.
WHAT ABOUT THIS SERIES IN PARTICULAR HAS CHANGED OR INFLUENCED YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH ITALY?
I know it better now, because I've been there so much. I'm more comfortable in front of the camera than I was the first time around. We have a lot of the crew that we had used towards the end of the first iteration of this. So that was nice.
So there's a shorthand. You don't have to say as much, everybody knows what you mean. Everything's unspoken at this point, which is great. And they're a really incredibly talented crew, and we all got along so well.
My Italian got a little bit better. Every time I go to Italy, I feel more and more connected and comfortable there. We were very specific about where we were going to position ourselves, so it's not just a guy talking about food – that's boring.
What's important about the show is that we make sure we have this connection between the space, the people and the food. And I want to be able to see those in one shot as often as possible, because it draws people in, as opposed to just cut, cut, cut. Boring.
ITALIANS HAVE THINGS THAT THEY HOLD DEAR, INCLUDING SITTING AROUND THE TABLE, GOOD CONVERSATION, AND QUALITY FOOD. ARE THESE THINGS YOU BRING INTO YOUR OWN LIFE WHEN YOU'RE AT HOME WITH YOUR FAMILY?
Always. When I'm away, I miss cooking, being with my kids. My dad always said this too, and now I know it myself, having raised many children. I love sitting down with them at the table and talking to them, even if somebody's going to be a teenager, eventually, they'll get over it. You also get to argue about what they want to eat, what they don't eat. It's really fun.
HAS YOUR PASSION FOR ALL THINGS ITALIAN RUBBED OFF ON YOUR CHILDREN? AND DO YOU EVER TRY OUT WHAT YOU'VE LEARNT IN THE KITCHEN ON THEM?
Oh, absolutely. I try everything out on them. I have a son who's a chef now, and he's amazing, so I'm afraid to try stuff out on him. But yeah, the little ones, everybody.
I have a daughter now who's in Rome. She was doing a semester abroad, and now she's figured out a way to stay and actually graduate from there. She loves it so much.
And yeah, they're all very connected to Italy and my parents. They share a love of food, sitting around the table, helping and cooking. And the little kids, too, now they love it.
To be able to say to a 10-year-old and a seven-year-old, Can you set the table, please? And they do it? It's great.
Tucci in Italy comes to Disney+ on Monday, May 19 and National Geographic on Wednesday, May 21