Tucci says the iconic line was not in the original script
Credit: Barry Wetcher/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock
NEED TO KNOW
- Stanley Tucci says the iconic “gird your loins” line in The Devil Wears Prada was not in the original script
- In a new interview, Tucci explained how the line came to be
- The actor also acknowledged how popular it has become, joking he may be “heckled with that line till my last day on earth”
Stanley Tucci is finally revealing the origin story behind one of the most unforgettable lines in modern movie history: the now-iconic “gird your loins” moment from The Devil Wears Prada.
Speaking at Stanley Tucci in Conversation with Josh Horowitz: The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Tucci in Italy on Tuesday, May 5 at 92NY in New York, 65-year-old Tucci opened up about how the memorable phrase actually came to life — and it wasn't originally part of the script.
When Horowitz asked, “When you first read in the script, the words, 'gird your loins.' Do you have questions? Do you say, ‘Yeah, this, this works. I can make this work?' ” Tucci immediately clarified the line's surprising origin.
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Credit: 20th Century Fox Film Corp.
“Well, here's the thing, that, that was not in the script,” Tucci noted. “It was [director and producer David Frankel], we came up with a list of things to say — mine would have changed the rating of the film. But David came up with 'gird your loins.' And it was perfect, perfect. He's brilliant.”
The line, delivered in the film as Tucci's character Nigel prepares the staff at Runway magazine for a high-pressure moment, quickly became one of the most quoted moments in the entire movie.
Horowitz then asked whether Tucci had made peace with the idea that the line would follow him forever.
“Have you reconciled that you are going to be heckled with that line till your last day on earth?” Horowitz said.
Tucci then acknowledged, “Yeah, It's going to be on my tombstone."
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Originally released in 2006, The Devil Wears Prada starred Meryl Streep as the formidable Miranda Priestly and Anne Hathaway as aspiring journalist Andy Sachs.
Tucci reprises his role in The Devil Wears Prada 2, which was released on May 1 and follows Streep's Miranda Priestly as she navigates her career amid a new world for traditional magazine publishing.
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