Following the news that Wes Bentley has been added to the cast of The Hunger Games, the forthcoming film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ popular novel of the same name, another brilliant actor has signed on to star in the form of Stanley Tucci, Deadline reports. He will star alongside Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), Elizabeth Banks (The Next Three Days), and Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right).
Tucci is something of a class act. He’s one of the few actors that can play both sides of the nice/nasty aisle so convincingly, so his casting comes as great news for what is certainly shaping up to be a film worthy of the anticipation preceding it.
Directed by Gary Ross (Pleasantville), The Hunger Games is set in the future, revolving around a young girl, Katniss (Lawrence), who must take part in a live televised fight to the death against eleven other girls and twelve other boys, until only one remains. Tucci will be playing Caesar Flickerman, the host of the games, who interviews the contestants.
Like Bentley, I think Tucci is another great actor who has always been just short of the true appreciation he deserves. In everything he’s starred in, he’s maintained such a high level of excellence throughout his career in a diverse array of roles. He was impressive on TV back in Murder One fifteen years ago as a millionaire businessman suspected of murder. His performance as a cop in Lucky Number Slevin back in 2006 (a film which deserves to be seen, if you haven’t already) was so well done. Similarly, his recurring role on E.R. in its fourteenth season was incredibly impressive, and he played a surprisingly funny laid-back father to Emma Stone in last year’s Easy A. He can do it all. He’ll be with us shortly in Captain America, due out on 29th July this year, and is currently filming Jack the Giant Killer which is due out next summer, and I have no doubt that he will excel in both.
Before that, with a release date set for 23rd March 2012, we can look forward to seeing Tucci as the host of The Hunger Games. His character is said to be a flamboyant one, so I personally can’t wait to see both Tucci’s approach to the role and what his wardrobe will look like.
