Stanley Tucci Doesn’t Think Sweatpants Should Be Worn in Public

The actor and author of the new book ‘What I Ate in One Year’ talks about the perfect pasta dish, the one ingredient he can’t stand and ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ sequel rumors.

By Lane Florsheim Oct. 21, 2024 8:00 am ET

Stanley Tucci had never directed a movie before “Big Night,” his 1996 film about two Italian immigrant brothers struggling to make their restaurant a success. And he’d certainly never run a food business. But the project was a critical success and caught the attention of restaurateurs.

“I’d walk into a restaurant and people would be like, ‘Oh, you made that movie. You told my story,’” said Tucci, 63. Owners started inviting him to dine, and through those meals and conversations, he fell in love with the food industry.

Now, he’s become an institution within it, publishing multiple cookbooks, hosting a TV series about Italian cuisine and writing a memoir, “Taste: My Life Through Food.” This month, he’s out with another book, “What I Ate in One Year (and Related Thoughts),” a diaristic catalog of his meals, daily family life, filming schedule and meditations on mortality.

“What you realize when you write something like this is how connected everything is in your life,” Tucci said. “As you write about really simple things you take for granted, they conjure up memories that you didn’t know you had and insights you didn’t know that you could make. It unleashes fears, anxieties, loves, hopes.”

Tucci lives in London with his wife, Felicity Blunt, and their kids, Matteo, 9, and Emilia, 6. He also has twins Isabel and Nicolo, 24, and Camilla, 21. Here, he discusses his upcoming movie “Conclave,” a misconception about his résumé and the restaurant he’d love to open someday.

What time do you get up on Mondays, and what’s the first thing you do after waking up?

I get up at about 7, because the kids have to go to school. Then, we take them to school if we can, or our nanny might take them. If I’m filming, I’ll be up earlier.

How do you like your breakfast and coffee?

Usually I have a glass of orange juice and a double espresso, then I’ll go work out once everybody’s at school.

What do you do for exercise?

I do weights, Pilates, yoga, some HIIT stuff with our trainer. Six days a week if I can.

What about skin care and grooming?

Well, there’s obviously not too much to groom. I love La Mer. I use their face cream and eye cream.

At one point in the book, you write, “The hardest part of being an actor is finding that family/work balance.” Is that something you’ve gotten better at over time?

A lot of people at this age are sort of going, I think I’m going to retire. I’m doing the opposite. The more you’re doing, you’re making more money and you can hire people to help you, so I can be with my kids or just take a break. At the same time, I still want to be very hands-on. Today, I spent quite a while trying to fix a drain in my house. I love to clean the kitchen. I put the kids to bed. I like to make dinner for them.

What’s the most helpful thing you pay someone else to do?

Organize my life. The ability to understand technology. I’m an idiot when it comes to technology.

In the book, you write lovingly about your favorite foods: pasta, eggs, soup. Is there any food or ingredient you can’t stand?

Cilantro. And I don’t have a sweet tooth. It’s kind of gross to me. Someone’s like, “We’re making this incredible dessert.” I don’t really care.

Do you have an absolutely perfect pasta dish?

Oh, God. There are so many, but lasagna bolognese is probably one of the greatest things in the world.

Would you ever open your own restaurant?

I want to, and then my wife looks at me like I’m an idiot. But I really would. It would be very small, tiny and seasonal, practically no menu. Wine on tap. Brown paper on the tables, like an osteria. Like 10 tables. That’s it.

You’re playing a cardinal in the upcoming movie “Conclave.” How were the robes?

I wouldn’t choose to wear them, let’s say that. You’re wearing many layers. So you always had to have somebody help you dress like a child. But they were beautifully designed. The designer [Lisy Christl] had done “All Quiet on the Western Front” with Edward [Berger, the director,] and insisted they all be individually made. They were much nicer than the robes that the cardinals actually wear.

There are rumors of a “Devil Wears Prada” sequel. Will you be returning for it?

I can’t speak to it. I can say that yes, there are rumors. That’s all.

What are your fondest memories from that role and movie?

Well, I met Emily [Blunt] and she’s now my sister-in-law, and that’s great and weird. I remember being quite nervous when I started. They were already filming when I was cast, and I had no time to prepare. But then the last day of filming, I finished and I didn’t want to leave. That never happens. I was like, “I can do more scene if you want. Just write something and do it.” I had the best f—ing time on that movie.

Do you have something you consider the secret to a happy marriage?

Don’t marry me, that’s the secret. No, I think communication, which I’m getting better at.

You write in the book that adults dress too casually these days. What’s your least favorite thing to see a grown person wearing in public?

A T-shirt emblazoned with some sort of weird saying or image. Shorts that don’t fit properly. Sweatpants. Not just like, “Oh, I’ve been running, and now I’m just going to stop at the store.” You haven’t been running. You just wear sweatpants because you don’t want to wear pants. I sound like such a snob, but I’m sorry, just put on a pair of pants, wear a belt, get a nice pair of shoes. It doesn’t cost a lot of money to dress nicely.

What do you wear when you want to feel your best?I like shoes. I can’t stand being barefoot. I love wearing a suit, a jacket, a nice cardigan.

I read that early in your career, you were a model—

I was not a model. This is completely untrue. Somebody wrote that somewhere. Oh, my God, a model? Are you kidding? I did a Levi’s commercial, that’s it.

Well, I’m glad we can debunk this.

Please debunk it.

What are your most prized possessions?

One is a watch that my late wife gave me before the twins were born, which says, “To Dad. Love, A and B.” We didn’t have names for them, so we called them A and B. I have a tie that belonged to my father that I love. And this could sound funny, but I have a big cleaver that my grandfather made that he used when he went hunting. When they caught a deer, they would break down the deer with that.

Are there any food trends you can’t stand?

People taking pictures of food to excess. Oh, stop it. Just eat it.

Are there things you do to cultivate your creativity and imagination?

When I can take the time to just sit and look at a landscape or something. Even just sitting in a cafe and looking at a building or at the same street for a while, it helps you see. The more you look at the same thing, the more you’re able to see the depth of that thing and the things around it. It’s OK to look at the same thing over and over again. It’s OK to draw the same thing over and over again. If you look at artists over the centuries, Giacometti did, Morandi did.

What’s one piece of advice you’ve gotten that’s guided you?

Go beyond what’s comfortable.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Appeared in the October 26, 2024, print edition as 'Stanley Tucci Doesn’t Think Sweatpants Should Be Worn in Public'.