Stanley Tucci Returns From Milan 2026 Winter Olympics and Talks Devil Wears Prada 2
Stanley Tucci is back in the American spotlight this week. The Emmy Award-winning actor and Italian food authority returned home from northern Italy after completing his widely praised role as NBC's cultural correspondent for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics — and wasted no time heading straight to the TODAY show to talk pasta, pizza ovens, and the long-awaited Devil Wears Prada 2.
Stanley Tucci Steals the Show at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics
Stanley Tucci joined NBCUniversal's primetime broadcast team for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, bringing his expertise and enthusiasm to travelogue-style segments spotlighting the culture, food, entertainment, and lifestyle of northern Italy throughout the Games. The assignment was a natural extension of his decade-long journey chronicling Italian life on television.
During primetime, Tucci presented segments highlighting the food, traditions, and history of the regions hosting the Winter Olympics — all broadcast on NBC and Peacock. His warm, curious on-screen persona drew immediate comparisons to Snoop Dogg's viral Paris 2024 run, with fans dubbing him one of the best decisions NBC has ever made for Olympic coverage.
Pasta e Fagioli, Pizza, and the Viral Women's Hockey Team Lunch
No Stanley Tucci Olympic moment generated more social media heat than a single lunch. USA Hockey posted an Instagram photo dated February 10, writing "Lunch with @stanleytucci… an absolute dream," confirming that Tucci had hosted the U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team for a sit-down Italian meal in Milan. The post collected 90,200 likes and 574 comments within days.
The contrast with the U.S. Men's team — which celebrated its Olympic run with burgers at the White House — instantly went viral, with fans online pointing out the obvious disparity in victory meal quality. Tucci also continued tasting his way through Italy during the Games, sampling top-tier pasta e fagioli as part of his ongoing NBC Olympic food segments.
Stanley Tucci Visits TODAY Kitchen: Pizza Oven and Olympic Memories
Fresh off his Milan Cortina experience, Stanley Tucci stopped by the TODAY show kitchen Thursday, February 26 ET, to unveil the latest addition to his cookware collection — a pizza oven — and talked about what it was like visiting Italy for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Tucci was characteristically warm and unhurried during the appearance, walking the TODAY hosts through his pizza technique while reflecting on the privilege of spending two weeks eating his way through the Italian Alps in front of a global primetime audience. His cookware line, which has built a devoted fanbase among home cooks, continues to expand with the pizza oven as its flagship new addition.
Devil Wears Prada 2: Stanley Tucci Returns as Nigel on May 1
Beyond the Olympics homecoming, Stanley Tucci used his media tour this week to build anticipation for one of 2026's most anticipated films. Tucci is reprising his beloved role as Nigel in The Devil Wears Prada 2, set to release on May 1, 2026. He confirmed during his TODAY appearance that the sequel delivers everything fans of the original have been hoping for since the 2006 film became a cultural landmark.
Tucci is following in the footsteps of Snoop Dogg, whose coverage of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics resulted in viral moments and widespread acclaim as part of NBC's broader strategy to engage casual viewers through high-profile celebrity correspondents. The comparison has taken hold as clips from Tucci's Milan segments continue to accumulate millions of views on social media well after the Olympic flame was extinguished.
Stanley Tucci's Masterplan Film and Citadel Season 2 Round Out a Massive Year
Tucci also discussed the upcoming film Masterplan during his media appearances this week, adding another project to an already packed 2026 slate. He is also set to return to his role of Bernard Orlick in Season 2 of Amazon's series Citadel, one of the streaming platform's most expensive original productions.
Tucci said it has been his passion to learn about the people of Italy by traversing the country and savoring its food, and noted that the Olympic assignment gave him the unique opportunity to share that passion with the entire world simultaneously. For an actor who has appeared in over 100 films and countless television projects, the Milan Cortina 2026 Games may have delivered his most universally beloved role yet — not a character, but simply himself.
