Advertisement

Stanley Tucci and Edie Falco's Relationship Began With a Nude Scene

011221-TBT-Stanley-Tucci-Edie-Falco-Lead
011221-TBT-Stanley-Tucci-Edie-Falco-Lead

Getty Images Stanley Tucci, Edie Falco

Who: Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Edie Falco, 57, and Oscar-nominated actor Stanley Tucci, 60.

How They Met: Interestingly, Falco and Tucci attended the same college: SUNY Purchase — however, Tucci had left by the time Falco started there.

"There were posters everywhere: 'Stanley Tucci!'" Falco recounted in a 2018 interview with Vulture. "Like the captain of the football team that they all still talk about." The Sopranos alum even admitted that she (and everyone she went to school with) had a crush on the actor. "He was like the boy who made good," she said. "He started working on Broadway immediately out of school — the shining example of what we all wanted to be."

The actors came to work together decades later, when they each scored a title role in the 2002 Broadway revival of Frankie and Johnny.

Famously, the play began with both Falco and Tucci fully nude.

''This play is about two people who are having sex, and there's sort of no way to make an audience believe it if when you get out of bed you have your clothes on,'' Falco told The New York Times in regard to the nudity.

RELATED: Alec Baldwin Called Then-Wife Kim Basinger "Absolutely Maddeningly Peculiar"

''I trust Stan implicitly," she continued, referring to Tucci. "He's in love with his wife and has a family, so it's not as weird as it might be were that not the case.''

At some point, things shifted. Falco and Tucci began attending events together and it seemed apparent that the Lovely Bones star had left his wife of 7 years, Kate Tucci.

Why We Loved Them: They always looked vaguely uncomfortable in photos together. And honestly, there should be more awkward celebrity couples.

When They Peaked: Falco and Tucci are two of the best (and least ostentatious) actors out there. Legitimate acting skill combined with legitimate passion … that sounds like some if-these-walls-could-talk type magic. So while I was not present for any of the performances in Frankie and Johnny's 2002 run (I was 9 years old; it's for the best), I can imagine that it was pretty damn special.

RELATED: Lisa Marie Presley's $65,000 Engagement Ring from Nicolas Cage Was Thrown Into the Ocean

The Breakup: Neither party was particularly forthcoming when it came to details about their relationship or breakup, but Falco did give The New York Times a brief overview in 2004.

"We were together and then we broke up. Because there's no way for that to be a good thing," she said, seemingly alluding to the circumstances of their relationship. "He's a lovely man, and he's back with his wife and kids, and I'm thrilled."

Where They Are Now: Tucci and his first wife remained married until her death in 2009. In 2012, the actor married Felicity Blunt (sister of actress and apparent matchmaker Emily Blunt). The couple welcomed son Matteo in 2015.

Tucci has several projects on the horizon, including Supernova opposite Colin Firth.

Falco never married, but she does have two children: Anderson and Macy.

The actress was most recently seen in CBS police drama Tommy.

#TBT: Check in every Thursday as we throw it back to some of our favorite celebrity couples of all time.