MOVIES
What was the one role Stanley Tucci regrets?
The 62-year-old actor revealed he “tried to get out” of playing the role.
Stanley Tucci has over 103 acting credits in his portfolio, ranging from comedies, to satires, dramas, and thrillers, and out of all the roles he has played — there is only one he wishes he could take back.
Tucci revealed that he regrets playing the role of George Harvey in the feature film ‘The Lovely Bones’. The movie, directed by Peter Jackson, is a screen adaptation of the novel by the same name, written by Alice Sebold.
The story is a supernatural thriller about a young girl who has been murdered and then watches her family and the person who killed her, Tucci’s character George Harvey, from beyond the grave.
The one role Tucci would take back
Though Tucci was nominated for a 2010 Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role in ‘The Lovely Bones’, it is the one he relishes the least.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Stanley Tucci explained that the role was tough to play.
“I would not play George Harvey again in ‘The Lovely Bones,’ which was horrible,” Tucci said.
“[I]t was a tough experience.”
Pressure from the director
Tucci explained that he tried to forfeit the role, but he was pressured by Jackson, the movie’s director, to continue.
“I asked Peter Jackson why he cast me in that role,” Tucci revealed. “I tried to get out of playing the role, which is crazy because I needed a job.”
“I was like, ‘Why do you want me?’,” the veteran actor continued. “And he said, ‘Because you’re funny.’ And I thought, ‘OK.’ But I understand what he was saying.”
“I think what he meant was... not that I wouldn’t be serious about it, but that I wouldn’t be overly dramatic about it,” Tucci recalled. “That I would throw it away a bit. Which is what you have to do when you’re playing somebody who’s that awful, right?”
What roles would Tucci reprise?
With one regret out of his more than one hundred roles, Tucci has plenty of favorite characters to choose from, including films starring Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep.
When asked if there were any roles the actor would reprise, Tucci had some top titles in mind.
“I would happily play Nigel in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ again,” Tucci said. “It was a really great experience.
“I would play Paul Child again, when we did ‘Julie & Julia,’” he continued. “Those are really wonderful roles to play.”