We have compiled the biography of actor Stanley Tucci, who played unforgettable roles both in films and on stage and crowned his performance with many awards.
Stanley Tucci was born on November 11, 1960 in Peekskill, New York. He was born the eldest of three children to Joan Tropiano, whose mother was a secretary and writer, and to Stanley Tucci Sr., whose father was an art teacher. Tucci, whose parents are both of Italian descent, grew up in Katonah, New York. Tucci has an actress sister named Christine Tucci and is cousins to screenwriter Joseph Tropiano.
Educated at John Jay High School, Tucci played on the football and baseball teams. However, his main interest was the drama club at school. Tucci gave acclaimed performances in many of John Jay's drama club productions with actor friend George C.Scott and high school friend Campbell Scott. Later, Tucci attended the State University of New York where he began studying acting and graduated in 1982. His classmates included acting student Ving Rhames, and it was Tucci who gave Rhames the nickname Ving, which he became known for.
Tucci was arranged by actress Colleen Dewhurst, mother of high school friend actor Campbell Scott, to star as two young soldiers in the Broadway play "The Queen and the Rebels," which premiered on September 30, 1982, in which the two teenagers co-starred. Meanwhile, Tucci won the Actors Capital syndicate. Working as a model at the same time, Tucci's most important job was to appear in a television advertisement for Levi's 501 jeans.
In 1985, Tucci made his film debut in the black comedy crime film "Prizzi's Honor" directed by John Huston. Then came the psychological horror "Monkey Shines"(1988), the comedy-drama "Slaves of New York"(1989), the comedy "Fear, Anxiety & Depression"(1989) and the biopic "Billy Bathgate"(1991). He appeared in minor and supporting roles in many movies such as gangster. Later, he played the role of Scapino in Molière's play "Scapin" (1991) at the Yale Repertory Theatre. The following year, Tucci starred in the family comedy "Beethoven" (1992), and a series of films of the same name followed due to the film's success. The same year, he took part in the romantic fantasy film "Prelude to a Kiss" (1992).
From 1995 to 1996, Tucci appeared in the legal drama television series "Murder One" as the mysterious Richard Cross. He earned his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his performance in the series, notably Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. After disappointing ratings, it was decided to renew the series and Tucci was dropped from the show.
At the time, he co-wrote, co-directed and starred in the comedy-drama film "Big Night" (1996). In addition to co-wrote the script with Tucci's cousin Joseph Tropiano, they also directed the film with his friend Campbell Scott. The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, was nominated for the "Grand Jury Prize" there. Tucci and Tropiano won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. The film also featured his sister, Christine, while their mother, who wrote a cookbook for the film, also appeared.
In 1998, Tucci co-produced as well as co-produced and co-starred the comedy film "The Impostors". Shortly thereafter, he appeared in the HBO biographical drama television movie "Winchell" (1998) directed by Paul Mazursky, playing columnist Walter Winchell. For his performance, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or Movie and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie. In addition to this, he also received a Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination for his performance. The following year, he played Robin Goodfellow/Puck in the Michael Hoffman adaptation of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
The following year, Tucci directed, produced, and starred in the drama film "Joe Gould's Secret," written by Joseph Mitchell and based on a 1964 biographical article about Gould. In 2001, Tucci starred in the HBO television war drama movie "Conspiracy" as Adolf Eichmann, alongside Kenneth Branagh and Colin Firth. Tucci won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Movie for his portrayal. The film was critically acclaimed overall and won a Peabody Award.
In 2002, Tucci returned to the stage, starring in "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune," a re-enactment of Frankie and Johnny, written by Terrence McNally. He earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in the play. Also that year, he appeared with Tom Hanks in the crime drama "Road to Perdition" directed by Sam Mendes. The film earned $181 million at the box office and earned six Academy Award nominations.
He reunited with Tom Hanks in the comedy-drama film "The Terminal"(2004), directed by Steven Spielberg. In the same year, he starred in the romantic comedy-drama film "Shall We Dance?" (2004) directed by Peter Chelsom. Tucci also portrayed the role of Stanley Kubrick in the HBO television movie "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" (2004). Additionally, he guest-starred in an episode of the TV sitcom "Frasier". Also that year, Caedmon Audio released an audiobook in which Tucci read Kurt Vonnegut's 1973 novel "Breakfast of Champions."
In 2005, he made his voice-over role in the animated science fiction adventure comedy "Robots", featuring the voices of key actors such as Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry and Robin Williams. The following year, he had a leading role in the comedy-drama film "The Devil Wears Prada" directed by David Frankel, alongside Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt. The film was Tucci's highest-grossing film until 2011. Also that year, he appeared on the mystery comedy-drama television series "Monk," for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.
He returned to television screens with a lead role in the medical drama TV series "3 lbs", which premiered on November 14, 2006. However, due to low ratings, CBS decided to cancel the show. The following year, he appeared again in the medical drama television series "ER". He earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his performance.
In 2009, Tucci played the character of teenage girl serial killer George Harvey in "The Lovely Bones," based on the novel by Alice Sebold, directed by Peter Jackson. He received Golden Globe Award and Academy Award nominations for his performance. Also that year, he reunited and starred with Meryl Streep in the biographical comedy-drama film "Julie & Julia" directed by Nora Ephron.
The following year, Tucci directed a remake of Ken Ludwig's comedy "Lend Me a Tenor" on Broadway starring Tony Shalhoub. Additionally, Tucci appeared in a supporting role in the teen romantic comedy movie "Easy A". In 2010, he appeared with Cher and Christina Aguilera in the musical film "Burlesque" directed by Steven Antin. In the following years, he played Dr.Abraham Erskine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero movie "Captain America: The First Avenger".
From 2012 to 2015, Tucci directed based on the novel of the same name the action movie series "The Hunger Games"(2012), "The Hunger Games:Catching Fire"(2013), "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1"(2014), "The Hunger Games"(2012) and "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2" (2015) he played Caesar Flickerman. In 2013, he appeared as the Ancient Greek God Dionysus in the fantasy adventure movie "Percy Jackson: Monsters of the Sea". Also that year, "American Dad!" he did a voiceover in an episode of the animated series.
The following year, Tucci played the role of CEO Joshua Joyce in the sci-fi action movie "Transformers: Age of Extinction." In the same year, he voiced Leonardo da Vinci in the animated science fiction comedy film "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" and had a small role in the musical heist comedy "Muppets Most Wanted" (2014). From 2014 to 2020, he had a recurring role voicing the character of Herb Kazzaz in the animated black comedy-drama TV series "BoJack Horseman".
In 2015, Tucci played the role of Mitchell Garabedian in the biographical drama film "Spotlight". The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, as well as the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Also that year, Tucci appeared as DCI Eugene Morton in the British horror psychological thriller TV series "Fortitude."
Two years later, he directed and wrote the drama film "Final Portrait"(2017). That same year, Tucci portrayed the role of composer Maestro Cadenza in Disney's musical fantasy film "Beauty and the Beast," where he appeared alongside Emma Watson and Dan Stevens in the live-action adaptation. He also made a return to the Transformers movie franchise, playing Merlin in "Transformers: The Last Knight." Additionally, Tucci portrayed the husband of British Supreme Court judge Dame Fiona Maye alongside Emma Thompson in the drama film "The Children Act" based on the book of the same name.
Also in the same year, he appeared in the drama mini TV series "Feud" as Warner Bros studio head Jack L. Warner. The series was critically acclaimed, with Tucci earning a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. The following year, he starred in the science fiction horror movie "Patient Zero"(2018), the biographical war drama "A Private War"(2018) and the action thriller "Night Hunter"(2018). In 2019, Tucci appeared in the drama series "Limetown" based on the podcast of the same name, which was canceled after airing for one season. In the same year, he appeared as one of the leading roles in the horror movie "The Silence" (2019).
In 2020, Tucci voiced the character of Bitsy Brandenham in the animated musical series "Central Park". The series received orders for two seasons, each season consisting of 13 episodes. In the same year, he talked about his TV series "The California Century", which tells about important people in California history from a screenwriter's point of view.
Later that year, he was cast in the British romantic drama film "Supernova" with Colin Firth. The film, which premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, has since received critical acclaim. The following year, he hosted the travel and food series "Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy", an original six-part CNN series that followed the actor on a food tour of Italy. The series earned two Primetime Emmy Award nominations and was renewed for a second season to air the following year. In September, Tucci was cast as Grammy-winning producer Clive Davis in the musical biographical drama film "Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody", the Whitney Houston biopic.
Personal life
Tucci married Kathryn Spath in 1995. The couple has three children. These; daughter Camilla and twins Nicolò and Isabel. Additionally, the couple raised Kathryn's two children from her previous marriage. Later, Tucci lost his wife, Kathryn Spath, to breast cancer in 2009.
In 2011, Tucci, then widowed, announced his engagement to British actress Emily Blunt's older sister and British literary agent Felicity Blunt. The couple married in a formal ceremony in the summer of 2012, and then in a larger ceremony at Middle Temple Hall, London, on 29 September 2012. The couple has a son named Matteo Oliver, born on January 25, 2015, and a daughter, Emilia Giovanna, born on April 19, 2018. Tucci lives with his family in Barnes, London.
On May 21, 2021, Tucci received the "PhD Honors Award" in Humane Letters from the American University in Italy for his contributions to the arts and humanities. A famous fan of cigar smoking, Tucci published his first cookbook, "The Tucci Cookbook," in the fall of 2012. He was also the co-owner of the "Finch Tavern" restaurant in Croton Falls, New York. The actor, who exercises four to five times a week, also enjoys culinary hobbies.
In September 2021, Tucci said he had been diagnosed with oropharyngeal cancer three years ago. Tucci, who received chemotherapy and radiation therapy after the presence of a tumor in the root of the tongue, added that the probability of the tumor coming back is low. The following month, his memoir "Taste: My Life Through Food," describing his cancer encounter and love of food, was published. His memoir, which he published as of February 20, 2022, has been on The New York Times Best Seller List for 18 weeks. Later, in November 2022, he said that there are some foods that he still cannot eat due to cancer.