Meryl Streep needs her charades team members to be on point—even if they are 82 years old.
“I love Stanley,” said Streep, 76, about her The Devil Wears Prada 2 co-star Stanley Tucci, 65, in a new interview on the Today show. “We have played a lot of charades together at various parties,” she said, where each was so good that they were often the “captains of rival teams.”
One of their first objectives, she said, was to “try not to get Robert DeNiro on our team because he’s the worst at charades. The worst.”
The comment tickled their Prada co-star Emily Blunt, who laughed out loud, as Tucci agreed. “He’s very shy—yeah,” he added. Anne Hathaway, who co-starred with De Niro in 2015’s The Intern, tried to soften the blow, “Oh, but I bet it’s so heartwarming,” when De Niro performs a clue. Streep did not confirm that.
The actress explained, “He’s just very shy, and he’s just not good at it,” Streep said, mimicking De Niro’s tight-lipped expressions and extending her hand in an ambiguous way that would not yield any good guess in a charades game. The gestures finally got a laugh out of Hathaway. “Terrible,” Streep added, throwing her in the air.
Added their interviewer, Jenna Bush Hager, “It doesn’t work,” as the rest of the film’s cast laughed.
Charades skills notwithstanding, Streep and The Godfather star enjoy a warm friendship, which the actor described when he presented her with an award in 2022. “Meryl doesn’t seem to have any imperfections. And I say that with the most love for you, Meryl. I love you so much,” he said at the time.
