Last April, just as the world was getting restless in COVID lockdown, Stanley Tucci gifted it something special—an Instagram video in which he, the internet’s favorite character-actor boyfriend, stood at his home bar, calmly preparing a Negroni.

To the naked eye, it was just a social media post, but to the harried masses barely surviving the pandemic and political mania in sweatpants, it was a portal to another, more refined dimension. One in which Stanley Tucci is your live-in quarantine partner, serving you tranquility, a bicep-skimming polo shirt, and the cocktail of your choosing.

The video—filmed by Tucci’s wife, Felicity Blunt—garnered more than 1 million likes, and high praise from other Instagram users. “I watch this video more than I’d like to admit. It makes me feel calm and happy,” wrote @whatuplizzz. “Why is this so entertaining,” wondered @monquiqui_96. “I don’t even drink lol.”

Tucci, a former bartender, was so flattered by the response that he made a few more Instagram cocktail tutorials—featuring a martini, a scotch sour, a margarita, an old-fashioned, and a Christmas cosmo that he prepared wearing a suit and tie.

Speaking to Vanity Fair last month, Tucci revealed that the Negroni video was never supposed to see the light of day on social media. He made it as a husbandly favor for Blunt, who thought the video might give her coworkers at Curtis Brown literary agency a morale boost.

Tucci recalled, “At the beginning of the first lockdown, she said, ‘Why don’t you do a cocktail video to cheer people in the agency up. Everybody’s stuck in their homes.’ I said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ I did the Negroni. Then we sent it to everybody, and everybody was like, ‘Oh, that was really fun.’ Then [Felicity] said, ‘Why don’t you just put it on Instagram?’ I said, ‘All right.’ And then suddenly,” Tucci said, taking a sarcastic pause, “the world changed.”

Tucci was shocked by the response.

“It has completely changed the way people see me,” he said. “It’s fascinating.”

“And I’m not a social media person,” he pointed out. “I barely know how to use my phone.”

Tucci and Blunt have been tickled by the feedback, scrolling through the many Instagram comments. “Someone was very excited that I wore a belt in one of the Instagram videos,” recounted Tucci, still mystified by the remark. “Why wouldn’t you wear a belt?”

Other times, the actor is overwhelmed by the sexuality of the comments. “Oh, my God, I was crying laughing at some—some of them were just so filthy and funny.”

In response to the videos, Tucci said he has received a raft of liquor from brands eager to have their products featured on his home bar.

“I have so much booze in my house right now. I was sent everything under the sun,” said Tucci. “Although now that we’re in a second lockdown it’s not going to last too long. There have been lots of [sponsorship] offers. We’ll see what happens.”

Given Tucci’s outspoken passion for food and flare for entertaining, Vanity Fair wondered whether Tucci might consider a cooking series in which he prepares a meal for some of his celebrity friends.

“I don’t know about that,” said Tucci. “Sometimes you just want to do quick little things”—like the Instagram videos—“and then just sort of enjoy a drink and dinner by yourself.”

Tucci does have a new series, however, in which he invites CNN viewers to enjoy meals of sorts with him. The new program, Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, premieres on February 14. It tracks the actor as he travels to different regions of Italy, learning about local cuisines, meeting with friends for dinner, and charming chefs with his Italian (his wit translates, it seems!) when he sneaks into the kitchens for impromptu visits.

Speaking about the six-part series, Tucci said, “It’s an idea that I’d had for a long time. I wanted to explore the regional differences in Italian cuisine and all the forces that shaped them.”

Tucci visited six of Italy’s 20 regions, and would be down to shoot more episodes if the series finds an audience on CNN.

“It was much harder than I thought it was going to be because I’ve never really done a documentary before,” said Tucci. “But in the end, it was incredibly rewarding. I learned a great deal and I met some incredible people…If people like it, there are a few other [territories] that I really would like to explore, like the Veneto area, maybe Puglia and maybe Calabria.”

“And if they don’t like it,” Tucci said, considering the other possible scenario with wit, “we’re definitely not doing any more.”

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