Stanley Tucci has many strings to his bow – writer, director, Devil Wears Prada star, Instagram pin up and documentary maker.

But the multi-talented star, 64, has insisted he wouldn’t be able to maintain his pace of life and juggle these career strands without his equally hard working wife.

The US star has been married to Felicity Blunt, the sister of Hollywood star Emily, for 13 years and his wife has her own successful 20 year career as a literary agent, representing legendary authors like Jilly Cooper as well as lending her expertise to her husband’s food books.

The couple were initially introduced by Felicity’s younger sister, Emily, who Stanely starred alongside in the Devil Wears Prada, during her 2010 wedding to John Krasinski.

Stanley has previously admitted he considered breaking up with Felicity because of their 21 year age gap, but the couple went on to marry in 2012 and now share two children.

And at an event to celebrate the launch of his new TV show Tucci In Italy, Stanley admitted it wouldn’t have been possible to pursue his many pᴀssion projects without ‘the support of Felicity, who works harder than anyone I’ve ever met.’

Stanley Tucci has many strings to his bow but the multi-talented star, 64, has insisted he wouldn’t be able to juggle the career strands without his equally hard working wife

The US star has been married to Felicity Blunt, the sister of Hollywood star Emily, who has her own successful 20 year career as a literary agent 

‘On our marriage’, quipped Felicity, 43, who was in the audience for the discussion between Stanley and their mutual pal, journalist Elizabeth Day. 

Stanley laughed but continued with his enthusiastic praise of his wife, explaining: ‘When you have the support of people it makes it a lot easier. But I like to do all those different things. I don’t want to do just one thing.’

The star added that as he’s gotten older he has been keen to diversify, musing: ‘I think actors become actors because they don’t want to be themselves, they want to be different people. It’s about telling stories and I want to tell stories in different ways.’

‘As I get older I find different ways of telling them, this is one way, books are another way, directing, acting. And there are other ways of telling stories that I want to do in hopefully the next couple of decades, if I have that.’

‘They are the stories of you but they are also the stories of how you see the world. I realise now that that’s the way I want to spend my life, telling stories in different ways.’

Stanley’s latest story-telling venture is Tucci In Italy, a mouthwatering new five-part series from National Geographic following the acclaimed actor and pᴀssionate foodie on a culinary and cultural journey through Italy.

The show weaves through the landscapes, traditions and dishes of five distinct regions: Tuscany, Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Abruzzo, and Lazio. 

The first episode shows Stanley indulging in a plethora of cuisine, including the Florentine speciality of lampredotto – a tripe dish made from the fourth and final stomach of a cow.

At an event to celebrate the launch of his new TV show Tucci In Italy, Stanley gushed about  ‘the support of Felicity who works harder than anyone I’ve ever met’

Stanley’s latest story-telling venture is Tucci In Italy, a mouthwatering new five-part series from National Geographic

‘I was nervous to eat it! It’s sweet but it’s so ugly,’ Stanley confessed. ‘It’s like fish, the Italians always say the uglier the fish the more delicious it is…that’s why my wife married me.’

Stanley admitted that he had a simple technique to ensure he didn’t over indulge during filming for the show, which as his friend Elizabeth Day joked, also helped him maintain his infamous Instagram ‘thirst trap’ physique.

‘I’m eating but I’m not eating the whole thing, that would be disgusting,’ he said.

‘You can’t do that because you wouldn’t function,’ he added but he admitted it was often hard to resist all the delicious dishes on offer. 

‘Usually when we finish filming a sequence the crew will break for lunch and I’ll go take a nap in the van,’ he confessed.

Stanley admitted that he had a simple technique to ensure he didn’t over indulge during filming for the show, which helped him maintain his infamous Instagram ‘thirst traps’

Across five episodes, Tucci In Italy sees the star indulge in a lavish Sienese feast in Tuscany, uncover futuristic farm-to-table delicacies in Lombardy, and rediscover the rustic soul of Lazio through its timeless culinary rituals. 

And for the first time, he visits the regions of Trentino-Alto Adige, where he samples pine needle pesto in the Alpine wonderland and experiences Abruzzo’s wild seafood traditions atop a trabocco, a centuries-old wooden fishing platform. 

Tucci in Italy premieres 21st May at 8pm on National Geographic and all episodes stream from 19th May on Disney+