Luca has recently been released on Disney Plus and is the latest animated offering from Disney Pixar. The coming-of-age film follows a young sea monster (Jacob Tremblay) who disguises himself as a human boy while on dry land, and is set in the Italian Riviera.
But one of the cast members nearly didn't take part, as TV chef Gino D'Acampo has admitted he originally turned down the role of Eugenio, a priest who works in the seaside town.
Gino told PA: "It was very bizarre. They talked to me about seven, eight months ago to do this cameo role in this animation movie called Luca that Pixar and Disney did.
"At the beginning, I said no, I didn't want to do it because you know what? It's not the kind of thing that I do. So I thought no, no, no, no, it really is not for me, blah."
But he had a change of heart after learning more about the film because it reflected so much of what he loves about Italy, and it was set in the same place as he filmed Gino’s Italian Escape.
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He added: "So then I thought, 'Wait a second, I'm changing my mind. This is filmed in somewhere where I've been, I know very well, this little boy is just incredible, the story is all about friendship and it's all about Italian food and how Italian people kind of live their life.
"And so I said, 'That's it, I'm done, I don't care, I want to do it'."
Most recently, Gino hosted the revamped Family Fortunes game show on ITV and he's also got an exciting new food show coming up called Gino and Family's Italian Adventure. But Luca is the first time he's voiced an animated character.
Speaking about the experience, he said: “It was not the easiest thing in the world, I have to say, but we did it and everybody's happy and what a great experience. I'll definitely do it again."
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