Stanley Tucci says The Lovely Bones is the only role he 'tried to get out of playing'

Stanley Tucci has revealed that he 'tried to get out of playing' his sinister role in The Lovely Bones.

The 62-year-old has a decade-spanning filmography filled to the brim with Hollywood blockbusters, but it's clear that his character in The Lovely Bones is one he isn't particularly fond of and to be honest, we don't blame him.

The 2009 film, directed by Peter Jackson, boasts a star studded cast including the likes of Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon and was based on a novel with the same title which came out in 2002.

Author Alice Sebold penned the horrifying tale of the sadistic serial killer who sexually assaulted and murdered at least seven young girls.

The film follows Susie, a 14-year-old girl played by Saoirse Ronan, who gets murdered but refuses to move on into the afterlife since she has unfinished business.

Her ghostly spirit continues to watch over her family and tries to reveal her murderer's name.

And, if you haven't guessed it already, the disturbed murderer George Harvey was played by none other than Mr Tucci.

Hailed as one of the star's most intense roles to date, for Tucci this role was clearly a one and done type of situation.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, the star opened up about his role as Harvey and revealed exactly why he would never play it again.

He said: "I would not play George Harvey again in The Lovely Bones."

Paramount

He went on to call the whole thing 'horrible', adding: "It's a wonderful movie, but it was a tough experience. Simply because of the role.

"I asked Peter Jackson why he cast me in that role. I tried to get out of playing the role, which is crazy because I needed a job."

Upon asking the director why he wanted to cast Tucci as the malevolent criminal, Jackson reportedly said: "Because you're funny."

"I thought, 'OK.' But I understand what he was saying."

The actor added that he was chosen because he 'wouldn’t be serious about it' or 'overly dramatic'.

"I would throw it away a bit," he continued, "which is what you have to do when you're playing somebody who's that awful, right?"

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"You can't play into it. Then, you know, it's over," he added. "Like, the movie's over. You just have to play against it."

Tucci has long-been regarded as one of the modern icons of cinema with appearances in a whole bunch of critically-acclaimed movies.

From starring as Nigel in the hit comedy-drama The Devil Wears Prada and Caesar Flickerman in The Hunger Games franchise all the way up to his most recent role of Bernard Orlick in the upcoming action Amazon Prime series Citadel, it's clear that the actor is a jack of all trades.