Happy Sad Confused - Stanley Tucci, Vol. II

Episode Date: May 7, 2026

Meryl Streep said it best. "It's impossible not to love Stanley Tucci." Here he proves it with a charming conversation with Josh about THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, TUCCI IN ITALY, the ebbs & flows of a remarkable career and why The Olive Garden isn't for him. Watch on Spotify. If you’re subscribed to Spotify Premium, you don’t get any Spotify ads on my video. SUPPORT THE SHOW BY SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! Rula -- Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at ⁠⁠https://www.rula.com/happy⁠⁠ #rulapod Quince -- Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Quince.com/HAPPYSAD ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for free shipping and 365-day returns. Limited Time Offer–Get Huel today with my exclusive offer of 15% OFF online with my code happy15 at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://huel.com/happy15.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ New Customers Only. Thank you to Huel for partnering and supporting our show! UPCOMING EVENTS! 5/13 -- Matt & Ross Duffer in LA -- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tickets here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 5/17 -- Billy Eichner in NY -- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tickets here⁠⁠⁠⁠ 5/18 -- Power Ballad w/Paul Rudd & Nick Jonas -- ⁠⁠Tickets here⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you first read in the script, the words gird your loins, do you have questions? Do you say, yeah, this works. I can make this work. No, here's the thing. That was not in the script. It was David. We came up with a list of things to say.

Mine would have changed the rating of the film. But David came up with gird your loins. Yeah. And it was perfect. Perfect. He's brilliant. Have you reconciled that you are going to be heckled with that line until your last day on Earth?

No, it's going to be on my tombstone. Girding his loins in perpetuity. Yeah, too. Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins. Hey, guys, it's Josh. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Say, Confused. Today on the show, a legend is in the house.

Stanley Tucci, Talking Devil Wares Prada, too, Tucci in Italy, his entire career. This is an awesome one. Thanks, guys, as always, for checking out the podcast. If you subscribe on Spotify, I want to give a shout out to my Spotify listeners and viewers. Thank you, thank you. Remember, Spotify Premium, you can watch the episodes with no ads. Just another fun way to experience Happy Sank Infused. Check us out on Spotify if you haven't already.

This is such a treat. We did a live event with Stanley Tucci to a virtually sole. out crowd in New York City. He's an icon. Somewhere along the line, this character actor turned into an icon, and it's well-deserved. He's a class act. He's got a lot going on, as I said, not only Devil We're's Prada, too, which everybody is seeing, but his Tootty and Italy series on Nat Geo, which I love and adore.

Stanley Toucci, Italy, food, sold, all the good things in life. All right, before we get to Stanley Tucci, though, some reminders, as always, Patreon.com slash happy, sad, confused. That's where you get all the early access to everything we do over here. You get discount codes to our live events. You get access to free merch. You get autographed posters and all sorts of fun stuff. If you like what I do, check us out over there. Patreon.com slash happy, said confused. And I mentioned the live events. We do so many of those. Obviously, Stanley was a live event in New York City, but we also have events coming up in Los Angeles. I'll remind you guys, if you don't know already, May 13th with the Stranger Things guys, the Duffer brothers who don't talk

that much, they are doing a live event with the evening of May 13th. Tickets are available. Check it out. We're also giving away some free cool stuff at that one, I'll say, and we're going to dive deep into Stranger Things. There's some cool surprises at that event. Get in on it if you can. Then I'll be back in New York, May 17th with Billy Eichner. May 18th with Nick Jonas, Paul Rudd, and director John Carney. Yeah, lots coming up. More to come that we can't announce yet. But yeah, we keep busy around here, safe to say. Okay, not much more preamble because Stanley Tucci is one of those guys that doesn't really need much of an introduction. We have all grown up loving what he can do.

His career is so multifaceted, whether you love him from Big Night or The Hunger Games, spotlight. I mean, I could rattle off 20 great Stanley Tucci performances, and it's the tip of the iceberg. So real treat to catch up with him to talk about his entire career and these two new exciting projects, double wars prod of two and toichi in Italy. So any further ado, let me take you to our live events at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, me and Stanley Tucci. Enjoy. Hi, everybody. How's it going? Welcome to the 92nd Street Y. Hi, everybody.

My name's Josh Horowitz. I host a podcast called Happy Second Fuse and you're inside of it right now. Thank you for coming out today. Thank you for selling out this theater for a very good cause. Stanley Tucci is here. Are you ready? Thank you guys again for being here. Let me tell you, there is such a joy and a panic in prepping for Stanley Tucci. This man has lived such a life, so many amazing on-screen credits. He has lived every kind of life. He's like social media's favorite mixologist.

He's a great director. He can do it all. And currently, as Taz just mentioned, he's got the number one film in the world, The Devil Wears Prada 2, which I'm sure you all saw. Well, he's got my favorite show, Tucci in Italy, coming back for a second season on Nat Geo on May 11th. Amazing. Yes, give it up. We're going to talk about all of that and much, much more. Please give a warm welcome to the one and only. It's Stanley Tucci, everybody. Stanley, how are you still standing? We've seen you on social media. You're running around the world. This has been quite the press store for Prada, too. You're doing all right? No.

Okay. No, I'm fine. We got you a comfortable seat. Yeah, it's tiring. You know, it's funny, the press junket thing. But, you know, you do it because you do it. Yeah, well, there's a lot to celebrate, including, look, there are certain markers in someone's life when you're an actor,

and sometimes it's awards and nominations, sometimes it's box office. You also, you just got your star on the Walk of Fame. Yeah, I did. Thank you. Thanks. Thank you. Yeah. It was, yeah, it was very exciting.

Does it make you a little bit reflective? Like, do you have that kind of like, wait, I was a kid once that dreamed of this life moment? No question. You know, he always dreamed that it might happen. And then it happens in your sort of shock that it happened, you know. It took them long enough. But I was really especially happy to have, you know, like Matt Damon there,

and Merrill speaking and, you know, Robert and Dwayne speaking for Emily. But I think particularly to have it with Emily, and now that they're sort of side by side is really lovely. It's also, you mentioned Merrill, who you've worked with a few times, and I know you're friends with beyond just being a screen partner. To hear her words at that event was pretty amazing. I'm going to say a few of them here today. She said, it's impossible not to love Stanley Tucci.

Fairness. Fact check, is that correct? Can you attest to that? Oh, and there's no question about that, yeah. Okay. She also called you, hear a few words she name checked for you. Tell me if these are true or not. Would you call yourself urbane? Yeah, I guess, yeah.

Sly? Sly. Yeah. Funny? Oh, yeah. Now we get to the good stuff. Bitchy? Sometimes.

Yeah. She said, you're one of the world's great complainers. Yes, I am. That's why I'm here tonight. What's a favorite subject to complain about? Oh, anything. I can complain about anything.

And so can she, which is why we get along so well. Yeah. Yeah. Making, you know, Tucci in Italy, I'd sit with Lottie, who is my producing partner. Used to be my assistant. Now my producing partner. She's extraordinary.

And we'd be in the car for hours and hours, you know, going from the hotel to one location. And there'd be these long silences. And then I would just turn to her and say, do you know who I hate? I promised your publicist backstage. I wouldn't bring you down tonight. No, no.

Don't do it. Don't do it. We'll be right back with more. Happy, Say, Confused. This episode is brought to you by Nespresso. Hear that, that's your next obsession. Every coffee, a new world. Every sip, a new taste.

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Nispresso, what else? Keep exploring at nespresso.com. From the parents behind law and order comes a mystery the whole family can enjoy. Patrick Pickle Bottom, Everyday Mysteries. Step into the whimsical world of Patrick Picklebottom, a precocious 11-year-old, with a love for reading and an uncanny ability to solve mysteries. Inspired by the beloved children's book of the same name, this podcast vividly brings Patrick's tales of deduction and everyday adventures to life

as he unravels baffling enigmas and solves clever cases. Patrick Picklebottom Everyday Mysteries is perfect for kids and is just as entertaining for grownups who love a good mystery. The whole family can listen now wherever you get your podcasts. Here's a broader question. As we're talking about being a little reflective, when did your parents stop worrying about you, your career? Because never. Was there a demarcation point? There was never like a movie, an accomplishment, anything? No, nor did I ever stop worrying about my career. You never do. because a career in show business ebbs and flows. And there was a lot of ebbing for a while.

Consistent ebbing. Like after the first Devil Wears Brun, yeah, I mean, I couldn't really get a job. Which I know sounds weird, but it's true. So does that mean a satisfactory job or literally any job? No, no, I could get a job, but it wasn't a job that was, they were less than lateral moves. Right. Right.

So it wasn't, yeah, and also just not, I mean, I had a family. You know, I had a mortgage. Yeah. Yeah. My late wife was ill, and I needed to find something that, you know, was satisfying, but also that would bring me money to be able to, you know, whatever. And is it just about powering through those? those ebbs, just sort of like, you know that the next.

Yeah, you have to, yeah, drink your way through it. Right. No. No, you have to keep communicating with your representation. Yeah. Yeah. I mentioned your parents. I mean, it strikes me, like, reading a little bit about your background, that, I mean, we're all the sum of our two parents. Yes. But you, especially, I mean, dad, an art teacher, a true lover of the arts, the fine arts, Mom, you often describe as like the greatest cook in existence. There's Stanley Tucci right there. Artists, hoody, nutshell, basically. Not nearly as talented as both of them, but they gave me a lot of tools.

And they gave me, you know, they gave me a vision and they gave me a palette. Were they supportive when you, was there a moment where you said, I'm going to make a go of this? and were they immediately supportive? They were very supportive. They were. They knew that I wanted possibly to be, and I thought about being an architect, but my math skills are tragic,

so that wasn't gonna happen. And I said, this is what I wanna do, and they were incredibly supportive. Yeah, I know my mother still worries when I, last year, I had like a little time off, and she was like so how are you? You know we talk once, twice a week, something.

She said, how are you? I'm good. She goes, so what are you doing? And I was like, well, I'm just taking time being with the kids and I have meetings at the office and stuff or this or that or charity stuff or whatever. There's a pause.

And you're like, oh, she thinks that I'm never going to work again. I understand it. I understand it. Does she have a favorite film of yours and your filmography? Oh, I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know. She's never seen anything. No, I'm good. No, I don't know. I don't know. All right, let's talk about first. I wanted to get to Tucci in Italy, but I want to start with a Devil Wars product too, which what a remarkable, I mean, this must be so surreal for you.

I mean, the first one was lightning in a bottle, and here we are 20 years later. This doesn't happen in this way. Was the first one, first looking back at the first one, is that in a career filled with surprises one of the most surprising moments in your career, the way that one hit and continued to hit? Yeah, absolutely. It was a great honor to be a part of it, and it was, I remember the last day of shooting. I didn't want to leave.

It was so much fun. You know, I met Emily, who became. my dear friend and then, you know, my sister-in-law. You know, I got to work with Merrill. I had known her, but we'd never worked together. I met Annie and David and all these wonderful people. It was great, but we knew we were making a good movie, you know, but we had no idea that it would result in something

that would become really the sort of Hollywood classic. When you first read in the script, the words gird your loins, do you have questions? Do you say, yeah, this works. I can make this work. No, here's the thing. That was not in the script. It was David. We came up with a list of things to say.

Mine would have changed the rating of the film. But David came up with gird your loins. Yeah. And it was perfect. Perfect. He's brilliant. Have you reconciled that you are going to be heckled with that line till your last day on Earth?

No, it's going to be on my tombstone. Girding his loins in perpetuity. Yeah, yeah. You mentioned Merrill. You, of course, worked with her on these two films, and Julia and Julia. And, I mean, we don't need to sell the audience on her as a talented actor. you feel like sometimes we, in a weird way, we take her for granted because she does make it look

so easy. And I kind of, I've heard her talk a lot on this press tour and she's so kind of self-deprecating and saying, like, I don't know what I'm doing after all these. Like how much of that, in your experience of watching her up close is for real? How much of that is her just being humble, having seen her do it up close? What's your perspective on her and her approach to the work? I think it's all of that. I think sometimes sometimes We don't know what we're doing. And you're not supposed to know what you're doing. Because if you know what you're doing all the time,

it won't read, it won't be truthful. And it won't be surprising, right? So she is that perfect dichotomy of an artist, which is there's this incredible technique, an amazing intellect. But then complete spontaneity. That's the place you want to be as an actor, as a painter, as a writer, as a whatever, where she is

every time that camera starts rolling. I think it's also, it struck me when I was watching this one, how much is unspoken between your two characters and the long history there is between them. And I've heard you speak in previous interviews about the value you placed in actors that are like silent actors, That's just like active listeners. You mentioned like Joe Pesci.

Yeah, I think from someone like that. Is that something that is important to you as an actor, that sometimes silences as valuable as a great line? Oh, yeah. I mean, I always take away lines from scripts. I don't, from my dialogue. I don't, because I think a lot of times writers will, when I might consider overwrite,

in order to get the, information across or whatever. And a lot of times you don't need that. You don't. Let me, I'll take care of it. I don't need to say that. The way I walk into a room, with one look, you can,

you can get three lines. Yeah. It's also probably tied often maybe to a younger actor who thinks they have to over-deliver, and it's maybe the confidence of knowing, with an eyebrow raised, with a look, you can convey. Yeah, and a lot of times actors want more lines. At my age, I don't want any lines

because I can't remember them. So as I alluded to before, it took a long time to get to this place where the sequel arrived. Did you have input in terms of what you didn't want to see for your character or did want to see for Nigel all these years later? Is there anything that would have been a deal breaker for you?

I didn't want to see I didn't want for it to be too self-referential. You know what I mean? I mean, this is vaguely self-referential. It's a balance. It's walking out of mind. It's a balance and you have to find the right thing. You can't just suddenly try to repeat all the things that were successful in the first film. It has to have moved on. What I liked about it was that Nigel was very much the same person. and he's just, as Emily described, just a little more world-weary.

And I think the scene that I thought was so well written where she comes in and explains to me what's happening that the whole thing is really falling apart, and I paid no attention to it at all. I completely ignore it and move on to what's in front of me to let her know, like, It's not a conversation that we need to have. Just a resignation of this is the life that I've shown.

Yeah, but also that he's always working on something behind the scenes. Right. Yeah, right. He knows everything. Right. Everything. I referenced and they saw the trailer and I told you backstage, you've cracked the code, sir.

Tucci in Italy is the gift that keeps on giving for all of us. And hopefully for you, hopefully you're getting a modicum of as much enjoyment as we all are out of the show. It's fantastic. Thank you. It's coming back on May 11th on Nat Geo. Italy, you spent time in Italy growing up, yes? Was, did you, I mean, has this kind of, not that you needed a stronger bond with the country,

but what has this done for your own ties to Italy to shoot this show the last few years? Oh, it's been incredible. I always loved Italy. I lived there. I lived in Florence when I was 12, 13. So this is 1973. And I it was just incredible. You know, coming from Westchester, New York, I'd never been on a plane before.

I'd maybe been in New York City once or twice. It was life-changing. And that without question informed my, how I saw the world and what kind of world I wanted to live in. And I always, and I realized as I got older and I traveled to Europe that I felt more coming. in Europe than I did living in America and I'm going to Italy I felt incredibly comfortable I don't know that I'd want to live there because there are so many Italians but that's the thing isn't it yeah yeah you know I get it but it's a terrible joke but there's yeah there I think it's it is there is something truly I hate to use the word, but magical about Italy, and those people who have survived

countless invasions, countless corrupt, inept governments, and yet they persevere. What do you, at this point, judge a good Italian restaurant on? What's the dish they need to do right in order to pass the Stanley Tucci test? Every dish. Yeah. I mean, yeah. For, look, for me, I think one of the most difficult dishes to make is a risotto, right, in any form. If you, if a restaurant can make a good risotto, it means that they can usually make everything else pretty well. Have you ever been to an olive garden in your life? Yes. I was making a movie. years ago in Salt Lake City, I didn't know where to eat. I went to the, that place.

And you know, I still bear the scars. Yeah. It was, yeah, I mean, not to, I'm not one, look, in the books I've written, if I go to a restaurant and I don't like it, I never name it, I never anything. come on really right I mean they do offer as many breadsticks as you can possibly want yep yep you've lost one endorsement deal yes I know yeah yeah yeah how many cooking competition series have you said no to I would imagine a lot right I don't like them I don't like a competition when it comes to

art or food. I think it's silly. I know they're hugely successful, but I just find it false and weird. To me, cooking should be the opposite of that. It should be a thing that brings people together, not separates them, a thing that allows for communion, not for competition. What about competition in the arts? I still find it strange. Yeah. Yeah, I do. I mean, it's wonderful when you get nominated for stuff.

It's wonderful when you get an award, but do I really believe, you know, because my dad was an art teacher, and he always said, how am I supposed to grade this and this and this? They're all different people, and they're all different perceptions of what they're seeing.

It's completely... Subjective. So how do you grade that? How do you say you're the best actor? It doesn't make any sense Do you know what I mean? Yeah, absolutely. I guess one way to judge is by the staying power of art. Here's my segue 30 years ago big night came out. Mm-hmm. This is the test of time. Yeah, thanks. I mean that was a very important film for you fair to say as an actor. as a co-director, as a co-writer, did a lot for your career, and it's still arguably the greatest food cooking movie of all time, among other distinctions.

Are you stounded by that film's staying power? Yeah, I am. I am. I think, yeah, we had no idea that it was going to be, you know, what it became this sort of cult classic, I suppose, because we just wanted to tell the story, we wanted to tell the story, tell the story we wanted to tell them. My cousin and I were writing it. We were just trying to focus on the truth of those people and make it a character-driven film as opposed to a plot-driven film and a film that used food to tell the story of the struggle between commerce and art.

Right. And a story that had an ambiguous ending, an ending that you might see in a foreign film or something. But we had no idea. We had no idea, but I'm so happy. It changed my life because it allowed me sort of entree into the world of food. And I'm really thankful for that. More happy say confused coming up.

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Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts. When the Chaotics are on the cake. You have over, I believe, 140 screen credits. Really? Yes, it's... And we're going to cover them all to know. Oh, God. What's the one or two that people bring up to you?

that brings a smile to your face. Maybe the ones that... I mean, I've brought up to you in the past that I love another film be directed was The Impostors, this farce, which I'm, yes, I'm... Where's the applause, guys? Love the Impostors.

Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, it was a huge bomb. I mean, it was, unfortunately, but thank you for saying that. There are people who really love it. I'm one of them. The reviews were so terrible

that there was one. There was one review that was really good in the Washington Post. That was about it. And then the rest of them were so bad. Someone said, the only thing I can say about Stanley Tucci's second movie is that I wish he hadn't made it. That's, I mean, it's good writing. It's excellent writing.

Excellent, yeah, excellent writing. It's like what Walter Winchell said about watching a play. And unfortunately, I saw when the curtain was up. Yeah. So imposter's might bring us some. mild to your face or do any others obscure ones that maybe miss the mark for whatever reason with the box office or folks at the time time have a special place in your heart yeah this movie i did with colin firth about six years ago um called supernova yeah i think it's harry mcqueen directed

it i think it's just one of the most beautiful movies ever and that i've certainly been a part of but even just as a movie looking at it objectively i think it's beautiful collins extraordinary is writing and direction are just extraordinary. And it's very touching about, you know, a gay couple who have, one of whom has early onset Alzheimer's. I think it's beautiful. And I think it got a bit lost. It was during COVID and all that.

And I wish that they had just waited to release it when that whole thing was over. Where does, I mean, another, I mean, you know, it can be a tough sell for folks watch this deeply. moving but beautiful movie about dementia, Alzheimer's. I mean, similarly, like, I mean, the lovely bones, that's a tough one. That's a tough role. That's a role that you got Oscar nominated for. Yeah. Do roles like that take a toll on you? Are you able to compartmentalize when you're doing something like that? That one did take a toll on me. I found that really difficult. Only because I don't, you know, there's so much stuff about serial killers. Every other

channeled, there's something about the serial killer. And I can't bear it. Like, I don't watch it. And anything where a kid in particular gets hurt, I have great difficulty with that. But I did it because it was so beautifully written. And it was Peter Jackson directing it. And I thought, okay, I'll do it. And I tried to get how to.

out of it. I needed a job too. It wasn't like, you know. And Peter, I said, Peter, why? We had this like satellite call, you know, before Zoom and everything. And he was in New Zealand. And he said, I said, why do you, why me? Why do you want me to do? He goes, because you're funny. And I was like, well, you're crazy. Yeah. But I understood what he was saying. I understood what he was saying. that I wouldn't do a sort of mustache twirling thing. To me, the character had to be, no matter whom you're playing, I played Adolf Eichmann in conspiracy.

But Eichmann was a human being. We don't want to admit that, but he was. Your job is... Yeah, it's what Hannah Arad said, which is, you know, there's the banality of evil. Right. And that's what, you know, Mr. Harvey was in the lovely bones. He was truly the banality of evil.

And the way I wanted him to look, which was completely like beige. Right. That's what he had. He couldn't look like me in 1970s, you know, suburbia. You'd stick out like a store thumb. So the hair had to be lighter. The eyes had to be blue. The skin had to be paler, the mustache, and all the, even what he wore was innocuous.

You never know he was there. That's what, that's what I wanted to get to, and which we did get to. It's the scariest kind of evil, the kind that you can, that's in plain sight that you miss. Yes. Yes. I mean, you have had so many different iconic looks throughout your career. I mean, you've had every hairstyle, facial hair, I mean, truly, can a bad wig compromise a performance?

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I've had a few movies where if the wig isn't right, you can have a beautiful wig made, but if the person who's putting it on doesn't have to do it, it just looks like a bad wig. And I've had that. Do you remember the first time you saw yourself as Caesar Flickerman?

And how did you feel about that very subtle look? Yeah. I was thrilled. I loved it. I loved it. Yeah. But that was V, this incredible makeup artist who did that. And we talked about it. We talked through it. You know, they taped my... I said, I want to look like he has, you know, facework. So we tape everything back.

Put on the thing. I said, I want a real, like a fake tan. I wanted him to be a cross between... Oh, God, what's his name? Who was a Las Vegas performer? I can't... Wayne Newton? Like a... Wayne Newton.

And I said... I said... Oh, God, what's his name in him? I can't remember where. Anyone... It's been a little... Anyway, another talk show host. Yeah.

And, but, like, taken to the extreme. Fake teeth. I tried to do a nose to make it look like he had like a really awful nose job. But it was too complicated. We couldn't do it. And now Kieran Culkin is getting

a shot at Caesar Flickerman apparently in the New Hunger Games. Oh, is that true? No. Oh, yeah. Good for him. You don't... Besides. I'm no body expert, but... Yeah. Okay, moving on.

No, he's wonderful, that guy. That's a really good actor. What are, for you now, the deal breakers in a script? What do you look for in a script? What do you find you respond to nowadays? Night shoots? You want night shoots? No, I don't want night.

Night shoots. No, I don't want night shoots, and I don't want it to be too far away from my family for too long. Yeah. Those are two really important things for me. Obviously, the quality of the script, who's directing it, you know, who's in it and all that stuff. Ultimately, it's, do I read this thing and think, oh, yeah, there's something there you can sink your teeth into? Yeah. I mean, looking at your career, even the early roles when you're doing the bit parts in the, in the, the early 90s, you're working for this amazing, if I rattled off the list of directors at Stanley has worked, he got them all. He's done them all. It seems that way, at least. Was there, are there one or two that you found you learned the most from that you enjoyed the collaboration that stand out for you? Oh, yeah. I think Alan Pukula, I played a small role

in the Pelican Brief, and he was so, like he was one of my favorite directors of all time, and to work with him, to watch him work. He was a really nice man, too. to watch him work, to watch him set up these shots that would, you know, they'd be days setting up a shot, you know, while they were shooting other stuff, because he wanted to shoot it all in one. You know, he was like the king of the, like the mask, of the oners.

Yeah, yeah. So beautiful, so brilliant. I think working with Stephen Spielberg was just incredible, incredible, that mind, my sister-in-law just worked with them, and she said the same thing. It's just like to watch him, the prowess is like, is extraordinary. The mind is pure cinema. It's like he invented cinema.

The ability to not only like think ahead of time and storyboard like anybody, but also be loose enough to kind of improv, like come up with new ideas. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. We were just watching, I had like one day off the other day. And we were, my wife and I were watching Raiders of the Lost Ark. And you're like, that is unbelievable. Like the shots, if you look at them, it's very, I mean,

go back and look at it because there are so many shots that are masters that you don't know are masters because they're so beautifully composed. It's not just a master where I set up, you know, you know, 20 millimeter lens and I'm just shooting a big wide shot. It's like he's got Harrison Ford in the foreground here, he's got another guy here, he's got another guy in the background. And that shot will play for like three minutes. But you don't even know it.

And that's the genius of him. And then he cuts right when he's supposed to cut. It's incredible. I've heard like no less than Steven Soderberg always talks about like Spielberg. That was that's his gift, blocking. Like he can block like nobody else. Nobody else. For you like I heard you talk a little bit about you're also in Citadel.

I don't know how you're working on all these things. But like you're also doing like action in Citadel, which is something you haven't done. on much of in your mirror. No, that was fun. Yeah, was that on the list? Was that? And how did it feel to actually kind of get around? Well, I loved it.

We did the first season, and I didn't really have any of that stuff. And then Joe Russo, you know, we're going to do another season. He reshot a lot of the first season. And then in the second season, he goes, Stanley, I'm going to give you, I want to do this scene where you just kill a whole lot of people.

And I was like, great, you know, because I'm angry for no reason. And he said, yeah, I want to do this thing and I have an idea how to do it. I want to do it all in one shot. And there are two sequences in the series. One is, for the most part, the second bit of it is all in one shot.

And it's really cool. And the other one is a fight scene that goes on forever. And I basically had to like go to a chiropractor after it. But it was a joy for me. I think particularly at my age, and I'm a very physical person. I like all that. I'm very sort of, you know, love playing sports and all that.

So to do that was like a great joy. Now they call it, Winder Myers, they call it Jerry Action. That's amazing. William Neeson started his action career, I feel like in his 70s. Look, I'm telling you, Liam, it's incredible. It's incredible. Those taken movies? Yeah.

You ready? I'm ready. Sure. Taken. Yeah. Took will be mine. He took. No, that's not.

The hunt for great risotto. Yes, yes. Fucci. Do you remember the last time you ever had to audition? I assume it's been many, many, many years. Okay. The last time I auditioned, ironically, was for Stevens Spielberg.

Not for that, not for the terminal. It was after the terminal. I know. Yeah, rude. After the terminal. We said all these nice things. Yeah, I know. No, after the terminal, he was doing Lincoln.

Yes. And I was doing a movie in London. And he said, would you come in an audition? And I was like, oh, boy, I guess. Was I somewhat quite uncomfortable. But it was Daniel Day Lewis, obviously. And they wanted to hear it, you know. And it was them, so I was perfectly fine.

But they didn't cast me. But he did send me a beautiful hamper from Fordham and Mason. So that was. Everybody won. That was nice. Yeah. And the movie was good. And I wasn't right for the role.

Right. I wasn't right for the role. Mary Todd. Right, exactly. So it's fine. Yeah. I was like, why don't you call Sally Field? I apologize if these seem very round.

What's the happiest you've ever been to receive an offer for a film? Is there one? Maybe it was early on in the career. Maybe it was later. A phone call and email. I've made it. I've achieved some level of something here. Oh, gosh.

Well, I think the Devil Wars Prada was one. Yeah? And yeah, and I think, yeah, I think Stevens movie, too. I was really excited about that. I was very excited to work with him. Yeah. When young actors ask you for career or actual acting advice, what's your go-to? I said, fuck off.

Stop trying to take my roles. Yeah. Healthy. Yeah. You'll get your time. Yeah. No, I don't. Sorry.

No. You told me to be polite backstage. You told me to be polite backstage. I really don't know. I don't know what to say. I only say, like, you know, in essence, be true to yourself. Stick with it. You know, I don't know what to say.

I suppose also what I say is don't act. Right. I mean, how much for you in your career, as you look back, has it been, does it continue to be technique versus an innate gift, a timing, just a natural proclivity? Yeah, I think you have talent or you don't have talent. It can't be taught. It's either there or it's not there, right?

Yeah. And then it's really a matter of how you shape it. And you must acquire a certain amount of technique, but you can't become mired in technique. And you always have to keep, you always have to keep an open mind. You always have to listen. What you do in acting is exactly what you have to do in life.

It's exactly the same, even though Tom Stopper did say, where actors were the opposite of people. Which is very true. And yet at the same time, the lessons that we learn as actors can very easily be applied to our. our lives, which is stay in the moment, be connected, listen, expand your peripheral vision,

get rid of your ideas. It's interesting because I could imagine also you've been in that situation, you've worked with every kind of actor where they've kind of created that performance in the trailer by themselves in isolation, and it's almost like they're performing it for themselves and not reacting to who else is it in the scene. Yeah, it's torture. Right. It's not fun to work with.

and you see people, there are certain actors who will, is it over? Like in the middle of a sentence? There'll be a trapdoor at some point. I'll come out, yeah. That's the Stanley. What was I saying? What were we talking about?

Oh, an actor in their own head. That's not. Oh, yeah. Like some actors, yeah, they come in, they have this idea. Particularly younger actors will do this. They have this idea of what they're going to, do and you're like, don't worry about it. Do you know the lines? Yeah, great. Just say it. Just say it. Talk to me. Don't, it is a performance, but don't perform. Just talk to me. If you talk to me, people will lean in.

If you're talking, if you're trying to talk to them by pretending you're not talking to them, they won't be interested. Easier said than done, but true. It's actually, a lot easier than you think. Again, we have to get rid of our ideas of what of what acting is. Well, also so much of it and having been on a set or two, it's shutting out the noise, right? It's being with your screen partner and forgetting all of this. Yes, exactly. Which I would argue is one of the real tricks. It is. That's the key is that it takes place in this sort of other world, but it's a real world for that moment.

Yeah. For that moment. Yes. And then it's gone. Is there an actor that I'm sure there are many actors you grew up watching that you came to either work with or befriend, which in my business, it's the same thing. When you start to know people that you grew up watching, it's a surreal, amazing thing. For you, are any of those? It's weird.

Yeah. Like Bob De Niro's one. Merrill. I mean, Merrill and I are 11 years apart. But, you know, seeing her on stage when I was young, seeing her and, you know, you know, movies, I was completely, you know, you're gobsmacked by that talent, that extreme talent. And then suddenly you're like hanging out and then suddenly you're doing a movie. Then suddenly you're married in a movie and, you know.

And then you get to a point where like, leave me alone, Merrill. Right? The texts, we get it, Merrill. Yeah, it's like, yeah, whatever. Yeah. You can speak at my star ceremony. Right, yeah, just saying, get out of there, you know. Sorry.

Looking ahead, I hope we get more to Chi in Italy. That's just me selfishly speaking. I think it's, I mean, Prada has made a gazillion dollars. That's official. You're not going to wait another 20 years. There's going to be another one, I'm sure. Yeah, in 20 years, it'll be Emily and Annie coming to visit our tombstones. You know, our grand.

It's like, what's that movie? Come on. 20 years. It'll take place in a nursing home. Sorry. So you'd like it to happen, but a little sooner. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Well, I can still walk. Yeah. It would be great. I would love it. We had such a good time. Look, those three women are just amazing. Amazing, amazing actors, amazing people.

All right. We end happy. Second fuse the same way every time with our profoundly random questions, Stanley. Are you ready? Yeah. Dogs or cats? Dogs. Okay.

Thank you. You passed the test, at least with a majority in the audience. What do you collect, if anything? What do I collect? Yeah. I, oh, well, artwork, you know, prints and things like that. I like to collect, you know, old cigarette tins.

I think those are really beautiful. Yeah. You don't strike me as a video game player, but prove me wrong. Have you ever liked a video game, a favorite video game of all time? No. No, I don't get it.

Yeah. The Dakota Johnson Memorial question, she asked me this. I ask everybody, would you rather have a mouthful of bees or one B in your butt? Don't look for help from them. This is on you.

Who, is that somebody in the audience? No, that was Dakota Johnson. I mentioned her backstage. Oh, right. Oh, yeah. I'll take a bee in the pot, I guess. That's all I needed. Thank you. That was the quote. I can't wait to meet her. Yeah. What's the wallpaper on your phone?

Oh, my three older children, quite a few years ago in Sicily. Yeah. Who's the last actor you were mistaken for? Mark Strong always. Yeah, and we get complimented on each other's performances. It's really great. He's such a nice person. I mean, he's such a great actor.

I'm very flattered. You know, I just go, thank you very much, you know. All attractive bald men do not look alike, folks. Come on. Apparently we do, yeah. What's the worst note of director has ever given you? Oh. I don't really know

because I'm usually block it out but one of the best and worst notes I ever had was from Herb Ross who was notoriously mean he was not mean to me and he I did a take in that movie

I was telling you the undercover blues and he and he went he came up to me and he went he was huge and looked to me and he said do it better. And I went, oh yeah, all right,

that made sense. Yeah. I didn't expect undercover blues to come up so much tonight. Who knew? I know. And finally, in the spirit of happy,

Segg-infused, who's an actor who always makes you happy when you see them on screen. An actor who always makes me happy when I see them on screen? You're in a better mood immediately. Oh, there are so many of them.

Paul Rudd is one. I know he's coming here, right? You said, Oh, I just adore him. Kate Blanchett, you know, so many of them. Movie that makes you sad. A movie that makes me sad? Well, sad and happy.

The Sound of Music. Yeah, I cry every time. And, well, also like Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice, so that, you know, but that's pretty. extreme sadness, yeah. And a food that makes you confused. You don't get it. Why do people eat this?

Besides the breadsticks from Olive Garden. I know, Abbas. Why do people eat this? Oh, yeah. I think, like a lot of those, like, gummy sweet things. Sure. I don't get it. No, it kind of grosses me out.

I don't have a sweet tooth necessarily, but that kind of stuff. And also when people are like, hey, taste this, this is the hottest thing you'll ever eat. And you're like, why? I did that. Why? This is going to really F you up, man. Yeah. I love this.

No, I want to taste the food. Yeah. So what I mean? It's like really sweet drinks. I don't want to taste that. Right. I want to taste the alcohol. Yeah.

It doesn't... It sounds terrible. There's our... It's like mold wine. I don't want mold wine. I want wine. Yeah. You could have done hot ones tonight, but you did happy, say I confused.

I appreciate that. You said no to Hot Wings. You said yes to me. Thank you so much for doing this tonight. There's, I mean, the tip of the iceberg. I'll just say, before we go, Tucci in Italy, not Gio. Gio, premieres next week. Check it out, support it.

And of course, as if it needs more help, but the devil wears prodig too. Give it another gazillion dollars if you can. Stanley Tucci, everybody. Thank you. Thank you all so much. You've been so nice. Thank you. And so ends another edition of happy, sad,

confused. Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley, and I definitely wasn't pleasure to do this by George. Reality TV is messy. Pop culture is louder than ever.

And the internet. Completely unhinged. Welcome to Roxanne and Chantel. The podcast where cousins, Roxanne and Chantel break down reality TV, celebrity drama, and the stories everyone's texting about. We recap the shows, spill the headlines, and sit down with the stars themselves. No filter. No boring takes.

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