Stanley Tucci Shares the One Role He Would Never Want to Play Again
This one was just a little too dark for his tastes.
Stanley Tucci is proud of his catalog of work, but there's one role he still could never be convinced to revisit.
While chatting with Entertainment Tonight about his upcoming Amazon Prime Video series Citadel, the Hunger Games actor revealed that he could not ever see himself stepping back into the shoes of serial killer George Harvey, from the film adaptation of Alice Sebold's novel The Lovely Bones.
"I would not play George Harvey again in The Lovely Bones, which was horrible," he told ET's Ash Crossan. "It's a wonderful movie, but it was a tough experience. Simply because of the role."
In fact, he tried to drop out of the project altogether. "I asked [director] Peter Jackson why he cast me in that role. I tried to get out of playing the role, which is crazy because I needed a job," he said. "But I was like, 'Why do you want me?' And he said, 'Because you're funny.' And I thought, 'OK.' But I understand what he was saying."
The character is known to have raped and murdered at least seven girls, including Susie Salmon, played by Saoirse Ronan. The movie follows Susie's ghost as she watches over her family and her killer.
"I think what he meant was that I wouldn't be too -- not that I wouldn’t be serious about it, but that I wouldn't be overly dramatic about it. 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?" he added. "You can't play into it. Then, you know, it's over. Like, the movie's over. You just have to play against it."
On the other hand, he'd "happily" step back into Nigel's shoes in The Devil Wears Prada any time. "It was a really great experience," he confirmed, adding that Paul Child—from Julie and Julia—was another "really wonderful role."