Stanley Tucci may not be the first person that comes to mind when you think of travel and food, but the acclaimed actor is preparing to star in a new travel and cooking show.
In “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy,” Stanley Tucci takes viewers on a breathtaking (and mouth-watering!) journey off the beaten path to explore Italy’s various regional cuisines and cultures .
Who is Stanley Tucci?
Stanley Tucci is an American actor.
He was born on November 11, 1960 in Peekskill, New York.
His mother Joan is a secretary and writer, and his father an art teacher, both of whom have roots in the town of Marzi in Calabria, southern Italy.
Tucci is the eldest of three children, and his younger sister Christine Tucci is also an actress.
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He graduated from the State University of New York at Purchase in 1982, majoring in acting alongside classmate and fellow actor Ving Rhames.
Rhames is perhaps best known for his roles as gangster kingpin Marcellus Wallace in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film Pulp Fiction and Luther Stickell in the Mission: Impossible series.
Tucci made his film debut in the 1985 film The Honor of Prizzi and went on to play many supporting roles as a character actor.
Throughout his nearly 40-year career in Hollywood, Tucci has earned dozens of awards and honors.
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This includes six Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, BAFTA, Tony Award, and Academy Award nominations.
He has probably starred in several films, including the 2004 film The Terminal, the biographical comedy Julie & Julia, the 2009 supernatural drama The Lovely Bones, 2010’s Easy A, and the 2015 drama Spotlight. Best known for the movie.
He is also known for his portrayal of Caesar Flickerman in the Hunger Games series.
Tucci has also appeared in several television shows, including Murder One, Feud: Bette and Joan, La Fortuna, Limetown, and Citadel.
He also voiced Herb Kazaz in the animated series BoJack Horseman and appeared in episodes of 30 Rock, ER, and the miniseries Inside Man.
In 1995, Tucci married social worker Kathryn Spas.
The two had three children, who were raised together with two other children from Spath’s previous marriage.
Mr. Spas died of breast cancer in 2009, leaving Mr. Tucci a widow.
In 2011, Tucci began dating British literary agent Felicity Blunt.
The couple, who wed in a private ceremony in the summer of 2012, were introduced by Blunt’s sister Emily Blunt at her 2010 wedding to actor John Krasinski.
Emily and Tucci met on the set of the 2006 comedy-drama film The Devil Wears Prada.
Tucci and Felicity have two children, a son and a daughter.
In September 2021, Tucci revealed that he was diagnosed with oropharyngeal cancer in 2018 after a tumor was found at the base of his tongue.
As of November 2022, there are still foods that I cannot eat due to chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
In October 2021, Tucci published his memoir Taste: My Life Through Food, which remained on the New York Times bestseller list for several months.
What is “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy”?
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy is an American travel and food show.
The series focuses on Tucci as he travels throughout Italy, exploring different regions of Italy with their unique culture, cuisine, and history.
In the show’s first season, which aired from February 14 to March 21, 2021, Tucci introduced viewers to the interiors of Naples and the Amalfi Coast, Rome, Bologna, Milan, Tuscany, and Sicily.
The show’s second season was split into two four-part episodes.
The first four episodes, which aired from May 1 to May 22, 2022, chronicled Tucci’s trips to Venice, Piedmont, Umbria, and London.
The second half of season 2, which aired from October 9 to October 30, 2022, saw Tucci explore Calabria, Sardinia, Puglia, and Liguria.
In a February 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Tucci claimed that the show was a carbon copy of CNN’s previous travel and cooking show, Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown.
“I knew Tony a little bit. He was a great mind, a real storyteller, and a great explorer,” Tucci said.
“The show we’re doing is definitely different from his show. I’m not as adventurous as Tony, I’m not as brave.”
“But what he did was open the door for all of us who were interested in food and travel to explore it in our own way. He is a hero.”
“He was an extraordinary writer, a kind man, and a great explorer of the human condition through food,” Tucci added.
Tucci also talked about how the series will “completely change” viewers’ lives and kitchens.
“The idea of ’Looking for Italy’ was something I had been thinking about for a long time,” Tucci said.
“I’m fascinated by the culture, the deep history, and of course the food.”
“We also wanted to show that Italy is more than just pizza and pasta and spaghetti and meatballs. Italy is an incredibly complex and diverse cuisine,” he added.
“If you meet the people who have been making it all this time, [the food] When you learn that from your parents and grandparents over the years, it completely changes your life and kitchen. ”
Stanley Tucci: Looking for Italy was nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards.
It won three Emmy Awards in the Sponsored Nonfiction Series category in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
In 2021, the show won Best Travel/Adventure Series at the Critics’ Choice Real TV Awards.
In 2023, the show also won the Producers Guild of America Award for Best Nonfiction Television.
Where can I watch Stanley Tucci: Looking for Italy?
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy premiered on February 14, 2021 on CNN.
The network originally ordered six episodes of the show, but renewed the series for an eight-episode second season following critical and commercial reception.
In December 2022, Stanley Tucci: Looking for Italy was canceled along with all of CNN’s other original programming due to Warner Bros. Discovery cost-cutting.
Fans of the show were devastated, but remain hopeful that the show will continue beyond the third season.
In a May 2023 interview with Variety, Tucci said he was “pretty confident” the cooking and travel show would continue on another network.
“We’re in talks with various companies,” he told Variety reporter Mark Malkin.
“We’ll know in a few weeks,” he added.
On January 10, 2024, National Geographic revealed that Tucci would once again be filming a new show in Italy.
The 10-part documentary will be produced by Tucci’s Salt Productions and BBC Studios’ Factual Productions.
The new show, titled “Tucci – The Heart of Italy,” explores 10 previously unexplored regions of Italy.
“National Geographic is all about adventure and exploration, and we’re honored to once again take our viewers to explore Italy through the lens of food,” Tucci said in a statement reported by Food & Wine.
“There is always something new to discover in Italy’s many distinctive regions, and we are very excited to partner with BBC Studios to start that process,” he added.
In the meantime, fans of Tucci, Italy, travel and food can fix their problems by watching or rewatching “Stanley Tucci: In Search of Italy” on several streaming services.
The show is available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Discovery+, and Max.
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy is also available on Hulu, Sling TV, and CNN websites and apps.
Viewers can also rent or purchase episodes of the show on iTunes.