There are plenty of downsides to working for an elite espionage organization – certain uncertainties are involved, such as the death or demise of your organization that inadvertently leaves you with an erased memory of who you are and what you are capable of. Both are certainly risks for the agents Citadel to take, and something Nadia Sinh and Mason Kane (Priyanka Chopra-Jonas and Richard Madden, respectively) spend the first two episodes of the show fighting their way back to, often fighting violently against those who wish them harm. That means everything: I understand, there are dangers to espionage that can make the whole profession semi-unappealing. But on the other hand, there is Stanley Tucci.
Tucci has made his mark as a charmer, whether fashion expert and mentor (The devil wears Prada), a dad who steals every scene he’s in (Easy A), or the man who made Captain America who he is (Captain America: The First Avenger). He may be the only reason to take a job at Citadel, something Madden knows all too well. As far as he was concerned, Tucci set the tone of the mega budget Prime Video show.
“This is a completely new IP; we made this from scratch, we have nothing to base it on,” Madden tells Polygon. “And Stanley was the one who managed to really bring that tone to the scenes where we can mix drama, action and thriller with these lighter touches, and make it funny – he’s a master at doing that.”
Image: Prime Video
Tucci’s signature screen presence is all magnetism. But further Citadel, Tucci’s spymaster Bernard Orlick might just be another risk (and a prick for sure) as he handles Mason’s case. He sets him up by kidnapping his family, being a bit spiteful and caustic, and generally making Mason’s life a bit harder than it needs to be. But since it’s Tucci, he’s still distilled pure charisma. And he clearly enjoys it.
It’s a testament to how good Tucci is that Bernard feels as natural and holistic as he is in the elevated world of Citadel. While he can be obnoxious and crude as far as spy handlers go, pestering his accusations with taunts and kidnappings, Bernard has masses that shine through in the shadows of Tucci’s performance: He’s impatient and smug, but in the first two episodes he also clearly cares his agents, in his own way. As Tucci puts it, he uses them as tools and selectively feeds them information in a world of secrets and lies.
“He’s sensitive and he doesn’t want to emotionally overwhelm them because the things they’re dealing with are huge,” says Tucci. “The emotions they deal with, the memories they deal with are huge. And he has his own memories that are dark and disturbing, and experiences. I think that’s one of the reasons he’s funny, or could be funny. Because he has to be, just [to] to survive. And that’s always an interesting character for me to play.
Tucci told Polygon that he took the role largely because of his respect for Madden. He was “blown away” by Madden in Netflix’s Bodyguard and in the Elton John biopic Rocketmanand said his co-star is “amazing” (as Madden actually folded in on himself, embarrassed and flattered by the praise).