A Beautiful Painter, a Great Drummer, and 'Weirdly Flexible'
- In a new interview with People Magazine, actress Emily Blunt lists the reasons she "worships" actor Stanley Tucci, who recently won a fierce battle with tongue cancer.
- Tucci is married to Blunt’s sister, Felicity Blunt, so she has gotten to know the actor intimately. Blunt praises Tucci’s many talents, from drumming, to painting, to cooking.
- The aspect of Tucci’s personality that Blunt admires most is his deep interest in other people, and the joy that he radiates to those around him.
In this week's issue of People Magazine, Emily Blunt confirms that it's not just a façadeher Devil Wears Prada co-star is just as cool as he seems. Even when he's not in front of a camera, the actor and cancer survivor always looks "immaculate head to toe." He does so despite the tragedy of losing his first wife, Kathryn Spath, who died of cancer in 2009 at only 47.
Read MoreEmily Blunt on Tucci’s Many Talents
Nobody is as suave as Tucci, but he's also excessively talented. "He’s an all-around renaissance man," Blunt said. Tucci is famous for his acting chops and his love of food, but Blunt revealed that he is also "a beautiful painter…a great drummer," and "weirdly flexible." Speaking to the actor's natural athleticism, Blunt said he has "a leg lift that rivals Jane Fonda's." Blunt loves Tucci for his charisma and his knack for connecting with people. He "knows the way to everyone’s hearts, and it’s through having a damn good time," she said. “He’s frighteningly bright, quick to laugh, loves to be laughed at, charismatic, warm and energetic.”But the actor is not a morning person. “I love that Stan starts each day walking into the kitchen … going ‘Ah, Chrisssst,’ probably from a sleepless night of small children being up or from a night where martinis flowed,” Blunt joked. After Tucci has his espresso, though, "He's a changed man."
There are a lot of reasons Blunt likes having Tucci around. His passion for cooking is certainly one of them. In her interview with People, Blunt recalled admiring his meals while the two worked together on movie sets. “I remember he would come to the set with gorgeous fried risotto balls and pasta that would leave everyone just abandoning their nibbled-on kale chips and salivating over what he’d brought in," she said.
Above all, Blunt says that Tucci radiates a warmth that lifts up the people around him. "I adore the deep joy and delight [he] finds in people. No one more so than my sister and his children," she said. “He’s authentic and irreverent in the best way ever…He just gets life, and I absolutely worship the guy.”
Tucci’s Tongue Cancer Journey
In 2017, Tucci learned that he had cancer in the base of his tongue. He had to be fed through a tube while he underwent 35 days of radiation and seven grueling chemotherapy sessions. The treatment temporarily destroyed the actor's senses of taste and smell.
Tucci had lived with severe jaw pain for two years leading up to his diagnosis. “I had a scan, but the scan missed it. And of course, when you think that there might be something wrong, you’re also afraid that there is something wrong,” he said.
When he was finally diagnosed, his doctors discovered a three-centimeter tumor on his tongue. "They couldn’t do surgery because the tumor was so big," he said. "It’s a miracle that it didn’t metastasize. It had been in me so long."
After the actor's treatment ended in 2018, it was a few months before he was able to eat and before he started to build back his strength. Now, the 61-year-old is in the clear. He lives with Felicity in London, and has been traveling throughout Italy for his CNN food and travel show. The second season of the show will be released this spring.
Tongue Cancer and HPV
Tongue cancer which is often categorized as a "head and neck cancer" is associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV).
The HPV vaccine prevents HPV-related cancers and can be administered starting as young as 9 years old. "We recommend strongly that children are vaccinated against HPV to prevent cervical cancer, but also to prevent head and neck cancer," Dr. Jessica Geiger, a medical oncologist at Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, tells SurvivorNet in an earlier interview.
"Now the key with the vaccine is that you received the vaccine before you ever reach sexual debut or have sexual encounters. So that's why these vaccines are approved for young children ages 9, 10, 11 years old, up to 26."
Dr. Jessica Geiger on HPV in Men
Tucci’s Breast Cancer Cancer Loss
Tucci's first wife, Kate, passed away from breast cancer in 2009 at 47-years-old. The two have two children together.
In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Tucci said of his loss, "It's still hard after 11 years. It's still hard. And it will always be hard. But…she would never want any of us to ever wallow in that grief and let it take over our lives. She would never want that. She wasn't like that."
Losing a spouse to cancer is devastating and heartbreaking. "You never stop grieving," Tucci said. However, even amid grief, there's love and joy to be found again.
When Should I Get a Mammogram?
Contributing: Anne McCarthy
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