Stanley Tucci

Speaker 40:01

BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.

Presenter0:05

Hello, I'm Lauren Laverne and this is the Desert Island Discs podcast. Every week I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take with them if they were castaway to a desert island. And, for rights reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast. I hope you enjoy listening.

Presenter0:45

My castaway this week is Stanley Tucci. He's an actor, director, writer and food lover whose career, like all the best dishes, took time to perfect. On screen, he's a compelling presence, whether he's playing a devoted spouse to Meryl Streep and Julie and Julia, a fashion bigwig in The Devil Wears Prada, or a lilac-haired dystopian game show host in The Hunger Games. He was born into an Italian-American family, and as a young man fresh out of drama school, he became frustrated that casting directors tended to see him as the hard-bitten mafioso character who invariably came from Brooklyn. In response, he co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the multi-award-winning Big Night, a story about two Italian brothers starting a new life with a restaurant in America. The 1996 film was about pie fillings rather than mob villains and was a homage to the meals he grew up eating at his family table in Katona, New York State. His best-selling cookbooks provide recipes, but more than that, they celebrate memory, family, and sheer pleasure. His recent food and travel show, Stanley Tucci Searching for Italy, won Emmy's two years running and left viewers on both sides of the Atlantic ravenous. Of his own twin appetites, he says, Sometimes with acting, I think, what a beautiful thing to do. And at other times, I think, what a wasted life. But food, that's an end in itself. Stanley Tucci, welcome to Desert Island Discs.

Stanley Tucci2:09

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Presenter2:11

So for you, Stanley, food is about more than just the dish itself. I mean, it's everything else at the table, the kind of misin-sen of a a perfect meal, if you will. Can you talk me through that?

Stanley Tucci2:23

Yeah, it's the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night.

Stanley Tucci2:31

Sitting around a table with the people that you love and having good food, whether you made it yourself or you're in a restaurant or something, it's just one of the best things anybody could ever do.

Presenter2:42

It seems like you love the ritual. That's a huge part of the magic of cooking for you. What do you love about that?

Stanley Tucci2:46

Of course.

Stanley Tucci2:49

It's an artistic process, isn't it? You know, there are certain techniques that you learn: how to chop, how to saute something, how to whatever. But after that, it's really creative. And in that way, it's very much like acting, it's very much like painting, it's very much like composing, very much like writing. There are certain.

Stanley Tucci3:13

Parameters, and then it's up to you to be creative within those parameters, and then.

Stanley Tucci3:19

Sometimes go, oh, I need, oh, I don't need that parameter. We've got to get rid of that parameter.

Stanley Tucci3:25

Yeah.

Presenter3:25

Now, Stanley, I know you love a cocktail, and during the first lockdown, you gave a masterclass in how to make the perfect negroni, which your wife filmed in your kitchen. I can tell you know where this is going. It went viral.

Stanley Tucci3:36

It went.

Presenter3:37

Were you surprised by the, at times, very lusty reaction that the clip received? One commentator called it the most erotic thing in the world.

Stanley Tucci3:45

Surprised isn't the word. I was shocked. And we were reading the comments and crying with laughter. And my children, who are now twenty-three the twins are twenty-three, and

Stanley Tucci3:56

But they were you know, this is a few years ago now, right? They were so embarrassed.

Stanley Tucci4:02

you know, their father as a sort of post-60 sex symbol.

Presenter4:07

You said you were sharp, but a little bit delighted.

Stanley Tucci4:09

I'm very delighted.

Presenter4:12

Let's get started with your first selection then. What have you chosen and why?

Stanley Tucci4:16

I've chosen this song, Let It Be, by the Beatles. I mean, how many times has it been said, but they were you know, they changed so many people's lives for the better. They changed music. And when I hear them, I just think, Oh my god, it's so sophisticated. And what they did in such a short period of time is astounding.

Speaker 24:35

When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

Speaker 24:48

And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me, Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

Presenter5:00

The Beatles and Let It Be. So Stanley Tucci, both sets of your grandparents left Calabria in southern Italy for a new life in America where your parents were born, and you grew up in Catona, New York State, in the early nineteen sixties. How crucial was your Italian heritage to that time in your life?

Stanley Tucci5:18

There was everything. The way it was preserved was through food.

Stanley Tucci5:22

And gatherings, holidays were really important. Fourth of July was a really big one for the Italians because America just held

Stanley Tucci5:31

everything for them. And it gave them opportunities, men and women, that they would never have had in Italy. So the to celebrate America was a really, really, really big deal. Through these huge parties

Speaker 25:43

Do

Stanley Tucci5:44

People would sing music and we'd play bocce ball and my dad would cut, you know, the fifty gallon drums. You know, he was an artist, so he also was knew how to weld and stuff, so he'd cut the drums in half and take refrigerator shelves, great, you know, grates, and create these huge barbecues. So much fun, and he would make all the decorations, like bunting, and he'd make stovepipe hats for everybody, you know, that were the of the American flag.

Presenter6:09

Boom.

Stanley Tucci6:09

It was fantastic.

Presenter6:09

Uh

Presenter6:11

And what was it like watching him at work? Did you get to see him teach?

Stanley Tucci6:14

Oh, a lot. I think it's probably one of the reasons I wanted to become an actor and one of the reasons I actually do love teaching like teaching a class and

Presenter6:21

Mm-hmm.

Stanley Tucci6:22

Um

Presenter6:22

It is a performance in a way, isn't it?

Stanley Tucci6:24

It is a performance, and he was amazing. I used to watch him teach summer school from the time I was very young. And then when I was older, I would go, when I graduated high school, I would go and watch him. He has a very sort of sonorous voice. He was very commanding. He was very funny and very charming. All the girls were, you know, completely smitten. And while he was doing that stuff, my mom was creating these amazing things in the kitchen. So when my mother was shocked, she goes, How come none of you ended up being doctors or lawyers? I was like, how would that have happened?

Stanley Tucci6:57

Where was that encouraged?

Presenter6:58

Yeah.

Presenter6:59

We were getting strong aesthetics. This is just where it went.

Stanley Tucci7:00

Yes, this is just where it went in. Yeah, it was all about food and art. So what? No.

Presenter7:06

It's time for some more music, Stanley. Teach your second choice today. What is it and why are you taking it to the island?

Stanley Tucci7:07

Yeah.

Stanley Tucci7:12

It's called Compared to What? And it's Les McCann and Eddie Harris at the Montreal Jazz Festival. And I remember hearing this on an album.

Stanley Tucci7:20

that my cousins had and they were so cool, my cousins. Do you know what I mean? Like they were just a few years older than I'm, but to me they were like the coolest guys in the world. They were great skiers. They were great tennis players. Anyway, they put on the album. We were all sitting around in the living room one day and I heard the song and I was like,

Speaker 27:24

And like they were

Stanley Tucci7:38

I've never heard anything like that. You know, the rhythm of it, because I was a drummer. I played the drums when I was younger. And when I just heard the rhythm of it, it just stuck right into my heart. And he just goes, god damn it. And it's just amazing. When I heard it as a kid, I just thought, that's the greatest thing I've ever heard in my life. Someone just goes, god damn it, in the middle of a song. And you go, you know, I know what that means. I know how you feel.

Speaker 28:03

No, I know.

Speaker 28:04

I know how you feel.

Speaker 28:07

President, he's got his war Folks don't know just what it's for Nobody gives us a rhyme or reason Have one doubt, they call it treason We're chicken feathers all without wonder

Stanley Tucci8:21

No, no.

Speaker 28:25

God damn it!

Speaker 28:26

Tryna make it real compared to what

Speaker 28:31

Suck you to me!

Presenter8:44

Compared to what, Les McCann and Eddie Harris. Stanley Tucci, your mother, Joan, as you said, was an amazing cook. She also worked in the school office. She was the person who ignited your love affair with foods.

Stanley Tucci8:57

Yeah.

Presenter8:57

How did it happen?

Stanley Tucci8:59

Watching her cook, um watching her cook with her mother too, uh, when we would go see my my grandmother. She never stopped learning and she never stopped watching cooking shows which were s starting to sort of blossom there.

Presenter9:13

Julia Child used to watch together.

Stanley Tucci9:15

Yeah, we used to watch it together, yeah. There was one T V, you know, and it was in the living room. And she would do the l you know, bring the laundry there so she could watch Julia Child. And then, you know, without question, which is what I love about my mother, she'd go, Oh, well, that's too much butter.

Stanley Tucci9:33

I wouldn't do that. And then all of a sudden she'd just go, ugh.

Speaker 29:33

Oh.

Presenter9:33

Uh Uh

Stanley Tucci9:36

Isn't she wonderful? Isn't she just wonderful? Don't you just love her?

Presenter9:41

And so your grandparents had passed on their culinary skills to her. What was their approach? Because I I think they had a very well stocked vegetable garden.

Stanley Tucci9:44

Yeah.

Stanley Tucci9:49

They did. They had an amazing vegetable garden in Verplank, New York. And the majority of what they ate came from their garden. And my grandmother would make her own pasta. Her pizza was extraordinary. And she'd do these things. And bread, she'd do these things so quickly that it was like she wasn't even doing them. She never stopped moving, ever stopped moving. And my mother's too is the same way. And I'm a little bit the same way. People always say, did you count your steps today? I'm like, really?

Presenter10:19

Uh

Stanley Tucci10:19

No potential

Speaker 210:20

We don't have to keep pace with you.

Stanley Tucci10:23

And it's well, I do believe it's one of the reasons they lived so long. It was amazing food. And to school I would bring, let's say, if we had veal cutlets for dinner, breaded veal cutlets, the next day I'd have a veal cutlet sandwich. But I'd have it on, not like on white bread, I'd have it like on a half a loaf of Italian bread. And I was like 12. And then I'd, you know, and then I'd have eggplant parmigiana, you'd have that as a sandwich. I couldn't have it like a lunch box.

Stanley Tucci10:52

Once I was a teenager, I had to I would bring like a grocery bag that was filled with my lunch because I ate like a horse.

Stanley Tucci11:00

And the sandwiches were too big to fit into a lunch box.

Presenter11:03

And did you relish it as much as I know that your your dad remained a a huge fan of uh your mum's cooking?

Stanley Tucci11:05

I know that you're your dad wrote.

Stanley Tucci11:08

I loved it. Loved it. I still, to this day, when I see my parents, I always learn something from them and we we just all love eating her food.

Presenter11:18

Time for some more music, Stanley. It's your third choice today. What is it?

Stanley Tucci11:19

Done it.

Stanley Tucci11:21

Oh, Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A major. And I'd love this. And I heard this when I was.

Stanley Tucci11:28

It was soon after I graduated.

Stanley Tucci11:31

college and I was desperate to get to Europe and I was gone for almost a month.

Stanley Tucci11:36

I went to Italy, I went through a lot of Italy. I went to Vienna, Paris, and I came to London.

Stanley Tucci11:46

And I took these films, these Super 8 films.

Stanley Tucci11:51

and put them to music and I was just listening to different classical music and this is the piece that came up and I would keep playing it and I put those films like on a I think I put them on tape on like a you know a VHS and would just play this piece over this one image like a piazza in Paris and in Venice I think.

Speaker 212:03

Yeah, just

Stanley Tucci12:13

with birds and I was I was starting to sort of think about how I would direct a movie and the images I wanted to see and how I wanted music to accompany them.

Presenter13:23

The adagio from Mozart's clarinet concerto in A major, performed by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Orchestra with Karl Leister on clarinet, conducted by Sir Neville Mariner.

Presenter13:34

Stanley Tucci, we talked about life at home. Tell me about life at school. How do you look back on your school days?

Stanley Tucci13:41

I excelled in certain subjects English, history, languages.

Stanley Tucci13:47

I was an utter failure, and I mean failure, in maths and science.

Presenter13:55

But you loved drama and appeared in many school productions. What did you learn from acting?

Stanley Tucci14:00

It's a way of controlling time and emotion and space, because we have no control over any of that in our lives. And that's what theater does. That's what filmmaking does. And you feel more comfortable. I felt safer on stage. I feel much safer on stage than I do.

Stanley Tucci14:22

In my real life, sometimes walking into a cocktail party or a dinner party, I get very nervous. Yeah.

Presenter14:28

Yeah. So you'd found your groove. You knew what you wanted to do.

Stanley Tucci14:31

And I did.

Stanley Tucci14:32

Yeah.

Presenter14:33

You went to drama school, but after you graduated, I think you were frustrated by the types of roles that were coming up for you over and over again. What was going on?

Stanley Tucci14:41

What's going on? Yeah, over and over again. You know, because I was Italian American, you were cast as a as a bad guy. You were darker.

Stanley Tucci14:50

So you were bad.

Stanley Tucci14:51

So I got to a point where I said, I'm not going to play any mafiosi anymore.

Presenter14:55

So in nineteen ninety six you took matters into your own hands. You co wrote, co directed and starred in Big Night. And it's about two Italian American brothers running a restaurant. Things aren't going well. How did you prepare for the role?

Stanley Tucci15:09

I worked with my friend Johnny Scapine, a fellow who became my friend Johnny Scapine. Isabella Russellini had introduced me to him.

Stanley Tucci15:16

He was the head chef at a restaurant called Les Madre in New York, and it was a really, really, really good Italian restaurant. And he would teach me, teach me how to cut, he would teach me how to make a frittata, blah, blah, blah. And sometimes I would just stop by and just watch. But then after Big Night, I didn't think that I was going to become as interested in food as I am. I didn't know it was going to have as big a part in my life as it does now.

Presenter15:43

It's time for your next piece of music, Stanley Tucci, disc number four. What have you got for us?

Stanley Tucci15:48

Oh, The Weakness in Me by Joan Armitrating. And I heard this so many, many, many, many years ago. I don't even know when. But I just think it's one of the most beautiful songs about love.

Stanley Tucci16:01

and about the complexity of love.

Speaker 216:03

Why do you come here when you know I've got troubles and know? Why do you call me?

Speaker 216:14

When you know I can't answer the phone

Stanley Tucci16:15

Oh, I cannot talk.

Speaker 216:19

Feel love when I don't want to But make someone else and better But not knowing who you make me stay

Presenter16:29

The Weakness in Me Joan Armour Trading

Presenter16:33

So Stanley Tucci, Big Night was a life changing for you and you started getting much more interesting and varied roles. Now you're often cast in supporting roles. Do you enjoy those parts? Or did you always hanker to be the leading man every time?

Stanley Tucci16:47

Yeah, there were times, of course, I wanted to be the leading man. No no question about that. But as it has turned out, it's just fine. And I feel very fortunate that I got a lot of meaty roles.

Speaker 216:55

Mm-hmm.

Stanley Tucci16:59

And I don't have to be away for three to five months at a time. So it's actually it's been just fine.

Presenter17:09

During the years that followed, you married your first wife, Kate, and you juggled work alongside bringing up your family. But in two thousand five, Kate was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer and very sadly died just four years later.

Stanley Tucci17:20

Right then.

Presenter17:23

How were you able to deal with your grief while continuing to care for your family?

Stanley Tucci17:30

With the support of my friends and family. Um you know, I didn't work for almost a year. It uh it was hard. It was awful. And it still is sort of awful in a way. You never really get over it.

Presenter17:45

You have talked about your own feelings of guilt after Kate's death. Why did you feel guilty?

Stanley Tucci17:51

Because I couldn't help her.

Stanley Tucci17:53

And I thought I could help her.

Stanley Tucci17:56

You know, I'm I was helpless.

Presenter17:59

And I know you felt you couldn't be with her at the end, which must have brought some complicated emotions to the surface for you.

Stanley Tucci18:06

Yeah. Yeah, very. I was afraid that it would affect me so greatly that I wouldn't be able to go on and take care of the kids, that it would overwhelm me. And so I had to step away.

Speaker 218:16

But

Stanley Tucci18:18

And other people were there who with her, my stepdaughter and friends and

Stanley Tucci18:24

And that was a good thing.

Presenter18:26

Have you been able to come to terms with that in in the years since?

Stanley Tucci18:29

No.

Stanley Tucci18:31

I mean, yes, because I did what I had to do in order to help the kids get along.

Stanley Tucci18:37

But you still feel guilty about it and you feel

Stanley Tucci18:40

Sad about it.

Presenter18:42

And you have described a sense of carrying her with you that I think will be familiar to many listeners at home who've lost someone, that sense that sometimes you'll say, Oh, I can't wait to tell Kate about this, something that one of the younger kids has done.

Stanley Tucci18:55

Yeah, it's weird. Yeah. You know, I think I see her sometimes.

Stanley Tucci19:00

And there's a part of you that goes, oh no, no, that's not her, and then you think,

Stanley Tucci19:05

Maybe it is her. Maybe she didn't really die, you know. And I have so many dreams and things like that.

Speaker 219:09

Yeah.

Stanley Tucci19:12

You never really believe that a person is dead. You don't.

Stanley Tucci19:15

And I'm coming to understand that now.

Presenter19:19

I think we'd better take a break for some music. What's your next choice going to be?

Stanley Tucci19:24

This song

Stanley Tucci19:25

is What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. And this is a song that Kate loved and this is what she wanted played at her memorial funeral service. I just loved that she chose that song because that's the way she saw the world.

Stanley Tucci19:39

She was always, always upbeat, always saw things in a positive way, no matter what was happening. The strength was staggering and the the positivity was well, it made you want to be her.

Speaker 220:01

I see trees of green.

Speaker 220:05

Red Roses Joe

Speaker 220:08

I see them blue.

Speaker 220:12

Five minutes.

Speaker 220:14

And I think to myself

Speaker 220:19

What a wonderful

Presenter20:26

Louis Armstrong, what a wonderful world. Stanley Tucci, it must have been such a strange and conflicting time for you in 2009 because personally an absolutely devastating year for you. But professionally, your career was stratospheric. It was really taking off. Were you able to take any pleasure in that at all? Or was it able to provide an escape from what you were coping with personally?

Stanley Tucci20:49

Yeah, it was a great escape, I'll be honest. Um yeah.

Presenter20:51

No.

Stanley Tucci20:53

you know, it was exciting. I was just sad that Kate wasn't able to be there. And then it was soon after that that I directed a show on Broadway and that was really kind of life affirming and it

Stanley Tucci21:08

just propelled me into a new place.

Presenter21:11

Tell me about the show.

Stanley Tucci21:12

The show was um Lend Me a Tenor, which is a farce, and it was just so much fun, but it was something that I really needed to do because it was so focused and, as we said before, I could control space and time and events.

Presenter21:28

Around this time you starred alongside Meryl Streep in Julie and Julia. She played Julia Child, you played her husband Paul. Did the two of you try cooking together before you were on set?

Stanley Tucci21:38

I said, look, I don't want to sound too methody, but can we just get together once and cook together?

Stanley Tucci21:45

And she goes, Yeah, yeah, okay, we'll do it. It turned out actually okay. It just we served dinner about

Stanley Tucci21:52

like three hours later than we thought we were gonna serve dinner.

Presenter21:55

What did you make?

Stanley Tucci21:57

Blanquette de Vaux, which is like a creamy veal stew as per Julia's recipe. So imagine how rich it was, how much butter was in there, how much cream, how much cheeses. And then she made a tartatan that was delicious. And then I made an attempt at some kind of vegetable thing, but it didn't work. But Kate was there, and we had it at Meryl's apartment, and it was just great fun.

Presenter22:23

More recently you starred alongside your friend Colin Firth in the film Supernova. You played Tusker, who's a novelist diagnosed with early onset dementia, and Colin played Tusker's partner. The two of you are very good friends and have been for a long time. Did that affect your performances?

Stanley Tucci22:39

Absolutely. Yeah, because what you see on screen is very much not so different from who we are.

Presenter22:47

There's been a lot of conversation about whether straight actors should play gay characters. What's your take on the subject?

Stanley Tucci22:53

Obviously, I I believe that's fine. And I'm always very flattered when gay men come up to me and talk about the Davores product.

Speaker 223:00

Well

Stanley Tucci23:01

Or they talk about supernova and they say that like it was just so beautiful, you know, you did it. You did it the right way. Because often it's not done the right way. But I really do believe that an actor is an actor is an actor.

Stanley Tucci23:16

You're supposed to play different people. Y you just are. That's that's the whole point of it.

Presenter23:22

It's time for more music, I think. Disc number six, if you wouldn't mind, Stanley, what have you got for us next?

Stanley Tucci23:23

Yeah.

Stanley Tucci23:27

Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings in C major.

Stanley Tucci23:31

George Balanchine set a ballet to it, and I used to go to the ballet like three times a week in New York, New York City ballet. I had a friend of mine who worked backstage, and eventually he ended up when the video cameras first came out, like the big video cameras, they made him the guy who videotaped all of the performances for their archives. So I would go to the video booth and I would also watch backstage. And every time I saw this piece, I'd start to cry.

Presenter25:00

Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings in C major, performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Herbert von Karian. Stanley Tucci, in twenty twelve, you married your second wife, the literary agent Felicity Blunt. How did the two of you meet?

Stanley Tucci25:15

We met through her sister, Emily.

Presenter25:17

Your co-star in the Devil Wars Prompt.

Stanley Tucci25:19

Yes, and I actually met Felicity at the premiere of the Devilwares product.

Stanley Tucci25:24

And she and Kate talked a lot that night. And then after Kate's death, uh, about a year and a half later, I was in Italy with the kids and

Stanley Tucci25:36

my parents and Kate's dad and my stepdaughter and we just had a lovely time. And at that time, coincidentally, Emily was getting married in Italy. So I took two and a half days and went to the wedding.

Stanley Tucci25:49

and met Felicity again. And then I was coming straight to London to do Captain America. And we had dinner and

Stanley Tucci26:01

And Haley at well, the we all became friends, Chris Evans and Dominic Cooper.

Stanley Tucci26:07

We all went out to Ronnie Scott's and had drinks, and I said to

Stanley Tucci26:11

Emily, I said, Emily, I'm

Stanley Tucci26:13

I'm dating your sister. Because she's had an inkling, you know. And then Felicity said, you well.

Stanley Tucci26:20

You told her? She goes, I haven't even told her. I go, well, she was my friend first.

Presenter26:22

Haven't even

Presenter26:25

Christophe

Stanley Tucci26:26

That was just fun.

Presenter26:27

So when did you realize it was something serious?

Stanley Tucci26:31

I don't really know. I was I was kind of afraid to get into a relationship, and I kept trying to break it off.

Stanley Tucci26:37

Well, because I'm 21 years older than she is, and I didn't want to.

Speaker 226:38

Why?

Stanley Tucci26:42

I didn't want to feel old for the rest of my life.

Stanley Tucci26:45

But I knew that this was an incredibly special person, and Felicity has been so incredible taking on a widower.

Stanley Tucci26:56

and three children whose mother died. I mean, that's a huge thing, at a very young age, too. I mean, if anybody, you know, made things better.

Stanley Tucci27:06

For all of us it's it's her.

Stanley Tucci27:08

She's the one.

Presenter27:10

Stanley, in 2017 you were diagnosed with oral cancer and went through a gruelling course of treatment. How do you look back at that time?

Stanley Tucci27:19

It was horrible for everybody.

Stanley Tucci27:21

Felicity was pregnant with Amelia, and so we went to New York to have the treatments done. Emilie was born in the same hospital. I walked I remember walking over

Stanley Tucci27:34

to the delivery room and I was there and then she had the baby and then I was like, That's such a beautiful baby, I have to go to bed now And then I left it but Emily was there and

Stanley Tucci27:48

Yeah, it was really, really hard. It was a terrible, terrible time.

Presenter27:54

Such a profound experience must change your perspective on life.

Stanley Tucci27:58

It humanizes you.

Stanley Tucci28:01

I wasn't fully aware of my mortality.

Stanley Tucci28:04

Even after Kate's death, and so many friends have passed away from cancer or from whatever.

Presenter28:09

There's knowing and there's understanding, isn't there?

Stanley Tucci28:10

Yeah, and I just didn't now I g get it.

Presenter28:14

Let's have some more music for you, Gigi.

Stanley Tucci28:15

Oh, sure, yeah.

Presenter28:16

Your penultimate disc. What's it going to be?

Stanley Tucci28:18

The most

Stanley Tucci28:20

A FOGGY DAY IN LONDON TOWN

Stanley Tucci28:22

Frank Sinatra. This was Felicity and my first dance at our wedding.

Speaker 228:28

A foggy day

Speaker 228:31

In London town

Speaker 228:35

Pat me low.

Speaker 228:38

And it had me down I view the morning

Speaker 228:45

With much alarm.

Speaker 228:48

The British Museum

Speaker 228:52

It lost its charm. How long I wondered

Speaker 228:58

Could this thing

Presenter28:59

A foggy day in London Town, Frank Sinatra. Stanley Tucci, I wonder how you deal with the ebbs and flows of life as an actor.

Stanley Tucci29:09

Well, not very well. N normally. There's a lot of ebbing and flowing in an actor's life, and it's unfortunate.

Presenter29:14

In the night.

Presenter29:16

You said even after some of your your greatest successes, you know, Devil Wise Prada, for example, that film was a huge hit and it s remains a classic. But you said actually after that, the phone didn't ring for quite some time.

Stanley Tucci29:21

Yeah.

Stanley Tucci29:28

Oh no, it just didn't ring.

Stanley Tucci29:30

At all.

Stanley Tucci29:31

And you know, you're calling your agents and going, is there anything?

Stanley Tucci29:36

But it's always been this way. I'm thinking, I'm hoping.

Stanley Tucci29:40

That those days are over because I can't go through it again. I can't go through another ebb.

Presenter29:46

Yeah.

Stanley Tucci29:46

Um so

Presenter29:47

There's no ebb on the horizon for you, I think. It seems to be a continuous build now.

Stanley Tucci29:51

Yes, I hope so. I hope so.

Presenter29:53

And of course you live here in London with your wife and kids. How have you adjusted to life in Britain? I mean obviously I have to ask about the food.

Stanley Tucci30:01

Here's the thing, is that I like when people, especially Americans, I think this is always funny when they go, Oh, you you're in live in England I go, Yeah, yeah. They go, Well, you know, the food and you're like, You live in America.

Stanley Tucci30:16

Are you kidding me?

Stanley Tucci30:17

Have you tasted your food?

Stanley Tucci30:20

And I think that England has so much to offer. In fact, we're sort of reconstituting the television show that.

Stanley Tucci30:28

CNN canceled with another network, which we'll we'll know very soon. And the plan is I mean, I want to do the UK as well, because I find it fascinating. I think there's so much here to offer. Yeah, is there a lot of bad food? Yeah, there's a lot of bad food in Italy too. I got news for you and I've eaten some of it.

Speaker 230:41

Yeah, is

Speaker 230:43

Yeah.

Stanley Tucci30:47

But the produce that you have here is kind of amazing. In London, in particular,

Stanley Tucci30:54

I think the options are much greater than any other city I've been to so far. Much greater than New York.

Presenter31:01

Well, I'm afraid I'm casting you very far away from this green and pleasant land. You are off to the island. How do you think you'll fare?

Presenter31:09

Well, look

Stanley Tucci31:09

Yeah.

Stanley Tucci31:10

I'll ferment fruit to make or something to make a beer-like thing, maybe.

Stanley Tucci31:16

That'd be nice, you know, with a piece of fish.

Presenter31:17

Yeah.

Stanley Tucci31:20

I think I'll be all right, yeah.

Presenter31:23

Well, one more track before we send you away, Stanley Tucci, your eighth choice today. What is it?

Stanley Tucci31:28

It's Not Dark Yet by Bob Dylan. I loved Bob Dylan when I was younger and it was funny'cause my father couldn't couldn't bear him.

Stanley Tucci31:38

And my father used to call him Quilo Noioso, the the the annoying one. And the irony is that this is about

Stanley Tucci31:47

Eight years ago. He had recently released an album with a lot of the American song book on it.

Stanley Tucci31:54

And my father was listening to it. And when he came over, my father, they were visiting, and he goes, hey, have you heard this? And he starts playing Bob Dylan. I go, what are you doing? Like, they were great. But he played it so much that I finally went, Dad, could you please turn that off? So 40 years later, it came full circle. But this one, I just love this because it's about, well, I'm saying it's about just getting older and knowing that there's only so much time left.

Speaker 232:27

I've still got the scars at the sun in me

Speaker 232:37

That's not even room enough.

Speaker 232:40

To be anywhere.

Speaker 232:46

It's not dark yet.

Speaker 232:49

Money's getting there.

Presenter32:52

Bob Dylan, and it's not dark yet. So, Stanley Tucci, the time has come. I'm going to send you away to the island. I will give you the books to take with you, the Bible, the complete works of Shakespeare, and one of your own choosing. What would you like?

Stanley Tucci33:04

Westward Ha

Stanley Tucci33:06

By S. J. Perlman.

Presenter33:08

You're already laughing just thinking about it.

Stanley Tucci33:09

Thinking about it, it's ridiculous. It's him and Al Hirschfeld, who was a great cartoonist, and it's them traveling in the 1930s on a ship.

Presenter33:10

Communicated.

Stanley Tucci33:21

to Europe and around the world. It's just one of the funniest things I've ever read.

Stanley Tucci33:28

And whether any of it's true, I have no idea, but it doesn't matter.

Presenter33:32

You can also have a luxury item for sensory stimulation or to make life more pleasurable. Nothing practical, though.

Stanley Tucci33:39

I would just have some art supplies.

Stanley Tucci33:41

Paper and art supplies. Yeah, I'd probably have if you have watercolor pencils, you can do quite a bit.

Presenter33:47

Okay.

Stanley Tucci33:47

Yeah.

Presenter33:48

And finally, which one track of the eight that you've shared with us to day would you save from the waves?

Stanley Tucci33:53

What a wonderful world.

Stanley Tucci33:55

Prisoners?

Presenter33:58

Stanley Tucci, thank you very much for letting us hear your Desert Island discs.

Stanley Tucci34:02

Thank you so much. It's an honor to be here. Thanks.

Presenter34:17

Hello, I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Stanley. It doesn't sound like he's going to go hungry on his island, that's for sure. We've cast away many actors, including Wendell Pierce, Dame Helen Mirren, and George Clooney. Stanley's friend Colin Firth is in our back catalogue too. You can find these episodes in our Desert Island Discs programme archive and through BBC Sounds. The studio manager for today's programme was Sarah Hockley, the assistant producer was Christine Pavlovsky, and the producer was Paula McGinley. Next time, my guest will be the artist Peter Doig. I do hope you'll join us.

Speaker 435:10

Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who's the greatest storyteller of all?

Speaker 435:15

To countless fans worldwide, the answer is Walt Disney.

Speaker 435:19

I'm Mel Gedreich, and in my Radio 4 podcast, Walt Disney: A Life in Films.

Speaker 435:24

I'm leaping through the looking glass and entering the world of the man behind the mouse.

Speaker 435:29

Who was the real Walt Disney? And how did somebody who moulded Western pop culture in his image end up on his deathbed afraid that he'd be forgotten?

Speaker 435:38

Through the stories of ten of his greatest works, I'll be separating what's fact and what's fiction when it comes to this much mythologised genius.

Speaker 435:47

Listen now on BBC Sounds.