Stanley Tucci wants his Citadel character to meet his Julie & Julia character
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Stanley Tucci is a man of the world. The urbane wit and globe-trotting wisdom that popularized his recent travel show Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy is also what makes the actor such a natural fit for spymaster Bernard Orlick on Amazon Prime Video's new series Citadel.
It's not the first time Tucci has played a character with espionage experience, either. For his memorable turn in Julie & Julia, Tucci played real-life figure Paul Child, who worked for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II.
"If I could do a crossover, if this character Bernard could meet another character I've played, I would say Paul Child," Tucci says.
Everett Collection (2) Stanley Tucci as Bernard in 'Citadel' vs. Stanley Tucci as Paul Child in 'Julie & Julia.'
Bernard and Child would certainly have some things to talk about. Child's spy work was valued and valorized during World War II, but in the postwar Red Scare it got him accused of being a communist and dragged in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Similarly, Bernard was once an important figure in the international spy agency known as Citadel — but when the new series begins, Citadel has been all but destroyed by rival organization Manticore, leaving Bernard on the run with few allies.
That said, Child got burned out by McCarthyism and focused on his family life instead (Tucci's performance in Julie & Julia is basically the ideal of a supportive husband/partner) while Bernard only doubles down in the face of Citadel's travails.
"Paul Child was very interesting," Tucci says. "He was accused of being a communist, and eventually he just retired because it was so insulting. Here was this multi-talented guy who had served his country and they just sort of s--- on him."
Bernard, meanwhile, "cares about all these people, but nothing is more important than the salvation of Citadel and the destruction of Manticore, even if those he loves have to be sacrificed for it. Not that he wants that, but if that has to happen in order for the world to be set right, then that's what has to happen — including sacrificing his own life."
Just as Bernard isn't giving up on his mission, Tucci himself isn't giving up on Italy. He told Variety at the Citadel premiere that he's still looking for a new home for Searching for Italy after CNN canceled original programming, and is "pretty confident" the travel/cooking show will land somewhere else. Paul Child would be proud.
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