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Stanley Tucci on being a sex symbol: ‘I don’t get it, but I’m very glad’

We certainly get it.
/ Source: TODAY

Clooney. Pitt. Tucci?

Yes, Stanley Tucci has become a sex symbol, a new role for the veteran character actor that he has taken on with open arms.

“Who goes, ‘I feel terrible about that? People think I’m sexy? How awful,'” he joked with People. “It’s wonderful. I don’t get it, but I’m very glad.”

Tucci, 61, is married to Felicity Blunt, whose sister, Emily Blunt, appeared with him in “The Devil Wears Prada.” Emily told People he is a wonderful painter and drummer and is “weirdly flexible” with “a leg lift that rivals Jane Fonda’s.”

The Women's Prize For Fiction Awards 2021 - Arrivals
Stanley Tucci is taking his sex symbol status in stride. Above, the actor at the Women's Prize for Fiction Awards in London in September.Joe Maher / WireImage

“He’s an all-around renaissance man who knows the way to everyone’s hearts,” she said. “And it’s through having a damn good time.”

The Emmy-winning and Academy Award-nominated actor may be a renaissance man who’s enjoying a bit of a renaissance himself, thanks to his CNN series, “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy,” in which he enjoys cuisine as he travels through the country.

He says he enjoyed a surge in popularity in 2020 after he posted a video of himself making a Negroni cocktail on Instagram.

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2019 - Press Day
Tucci's love of food has taken his career in a new direction.Jeff Spicer / Getty Images

“I changed my life completely. All I had to do was be myself,” he said.

Tucci also has some perspective on life. He was diagnosed with cancer in his tongue in 2017 and says his wife, with whom he has two kids, Emilia, 3, and Matteo, 7 provided him with “undying attention, affection and encouragement” that got him through his treatments.

Tucci, who is now cancer-free, says he has developed a new appreciation for food since he recovered that is on full display on his show.

“It means everything to me. It’s sort of all I can think about,” he told TODAY in January. “CNN came to me and asked me to do this series a few years ago, and we’ve been able to make it happen. ... It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to explore the regional cooking of it in as much detail as possible.”

Tucci says eating plays a major role in his life.

“A perfect day off for me would be going to the farmer’s market, buy a bunch of food, start cooking, play with the kids,” he told People. “Then have people over for dinner. To me, that’s just a great day.”