Stanley Tucci 'Tried to Get Out of' Oscar-Nominated 'Lovely Bones' Role: 'It Was a Tough Experience'

While he praised The Lovely Bones as "a wonderful movie," the actor said he would not be keen on playing his murderous character again

By

Jen Juneau

Published on April 21, 2023 11:52AM EDT

Stanley Tucci has no desire to revisit one specific character.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight surrounding his new series Citadel, the 62-year-old actor spoke about some of his most memorable roles and admitted he would not be keen to again play George Harvey, his serial-killer character in 2009's The Lovely Bones.

"[It] was horrible," Tucci said of his experience with the character, who murders 14-year-old Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) before the latter watches her family — and her killer — from the "In-Between" after her death.

"It's a wonderful movie but it was a tough experience simply because of the role," he added.

Based on Alice Sebold's 2002 book of the same name, The Lovely Bones also starred Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Michael Imperioli and Rose McIver.

Tucci was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the elusive Harvey, but lost the Best Supporting Actor trophy to Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) that year.

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Stanley Tucci The Lovely Bones - 2009 — Stanley Tucci in *The Lovely Bones* (2009). Wingnut/Kobal/Shutterstock

Tucci told ET he tried to drop out from the role at one point: "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. But I was like, 'Why do you want me?' And he said, 'Because you're funny.' And I thought, 'Okay.' But I understand what he was saying."

"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? You can't play into it. Then, you know, it's over. Like, the movie's over. You just have to play against it."

While Tucci has said previously that fatherhood made him hesitant to accept the role, at the same time, he was up front with his three older children, whom he shared with late first wife Kate Tucci, about what it consisted of.

"I just say, 'And then the girl dies and I'm the person who kills her.' They'll say, 'Why do you kill her, Dad?' and I'll say, 'Because he's a very sick person. Okay, let's go eat,' " the actor said.

Stanley Tucci, actor, at the Cheltenham Literature Festival — Stanley Tucci. David Levenson/Getty Images

Back in 2010, the Hunger Games star, who has since gone on to welcome two more kids with now-wife Felicity Blunt, said his children "don't really like to watch movies with me in them."

"I think because I'm their father they just want me to be me," Tucci said. "When I was the bad guy in Kit Kittredge, my youngest daughter got really mad at me."

And they were definitely not fans of his outward appearance for his Lovely Bones role.

"They saw me dressed up as Mr. Harvey," Tucci told PEOPLE at the time. "They were like [in a high-pitched voice], 'Oooo. That's really disgusting.' "

Citadel premieres April 28 on Prime Video.