Dan Bucatinsky’s Bittersweet Tuscan Homecoming with Daughter

Brace yourselves—an actor crying his way through Italy sounds exactly like another yawner in celebrity travelogues. Dan Bucatinsky, the Emmy-winning Hacks alum who previously scored scenes in Scandal and The Comeback, recently whisked his 20-year-old daughter, Eliza, back to Rome for what he dubs an “emotional homecoming.” In an exclusive essay for People Magazine (via Dotdash Meredith), he insists this trip isn’t just another Instagrammable vacay but the long-awaited sequel to his 2002 Under the Tuscan Sun epiphany. Back then, a pre-iPhone Bucatinsky snapped photos with his trusty Nikon 35mm, feasted on aproned-grandma pasta drizzled in local olive oil and truffles, and—surprise!—claims he discovered his paternal purpose trading banter with Diane Lane, Sandra Oh and director Audrey Wells. Fast-forward 23 years: he shouts the set’s old rallying cry, “Andiamo!,” as he steers Eliza past the Colosseum. Her response? A skeptical smirk and an eye roll. “What’s the big deal?” she asks, unamused by Dad’s mid-life “menopausal melancholy.” He blames his tears on the weight of history—and maybe Don Roos’s screenwriting genes—but mostly, he says, it’s about sharing the spot where he decided to become a dad. Sources from People and Dotdash Meredith confirm he and husband Don Roos also raised son Jonah, 17, amid this Hollywood-meets-home story. Along cobblestone alleys, he tried to recreate that “family” vibe he once found behind the scenes—some of his castmates, like Sandra Oh, are still in his contacts. He even credits Audrey’s off-camera parenting with her toddler cameo as the final push toward his own daddy makeover. So there you have it—a recycled film set, a tear-jerking essay, and yet another celebrity nostalgia trip framed as life-changing wisdom. Nothing shocking here, folks. Let’s all act surprised.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and People Magazine
Dotdash Meredith
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed