Artist Opens Up About Journey to Patriots' Tom Brady Statue

Jeff Buccacio is now known for sculpting a 17-foot statue of legendary New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. His journey started when his father got him his first Lego set.

He was around six years old, and was just trying to stack them together. He remembers building the original Star Wars sets, before moving on to try and build planes and cars. Soon, his mother replaced the Legos with a ball of clay that would later fill his childhood room. That's where this story begins.

Years later, ahead of the New England Patriots' preseason opener against the Washington Commanders in August, the world was introduced to his statue. While the crowd watched the unveiling, Buccacio — chosen two years prior to work on the project — instead looked at the audience.

"I'm looking for the facial cues, whether or not they like it or whether or not they don't like it," Buccacio told Patriots on SI. "And at that moment, I know if I've done my job, and I was looking right at Tom's face, and it looked like he liked it, and he came up to me and he gave me a handshake and a hug, and he said, 'Man, thank you so much. You nailed it.'"

As for Brady, he cracked a joke toward the sculptor in his speech.

"As for the statue itself, you and your team did an incredible job. Seriously, it is so accurate, so detailed," Brady said to Buccacio at the unveiling, before pretending to take a phone call from Bill Belichick. "Sorry Jeff, that was Coach Belichick. He said there's still room for improvement. I know the feeling."

"I Put My Heart And Soul Into This Project"

Buccacio Sculpture Services is located in Canton, Massachusetts. It's tucked away in the back of a parking lot, between two yellow posts at the end of a curved driveway. Even when he's not doing any work, Buccacio remains in the studio — on the phone, molding clay, hanging with his dogs. He remains in his workshop all the time.

He's a reserved person, almost to a fault. When asked a question, Buccacio will answer it, but only after a quick pause. He collects his thoughts quite often — not to hide what he wants to say, but to be as openly honest as possible.

In his office is a signed Patriots football and helmet, along with Suki, the studio dog that was just as comfortable around the heavy machinery as the sculptors. To the left of his office sits his molding room, filled with clay pieces he's currently working on. Under a black blanket sits a 3-foot model of Brady, right against the back wall of the room.

He calls himself a dreamer, saying most people in creative industries tend to be. He's passionate about his work, and any struggles that may arise from it. Buccacio might sculpt for a living, but has also made sure to highlight the fact that he's sculpted himself.

"To talk about those questions, those thoughts, those struggles, they need to be paid for up front in full with blood, sweat and tears in time," Buccacio said. "Spending time in the woodshed, as my dad would say. 'Dad, I want to get better.' 'Well, you got to spend some more time in the woodshed.'"

His parents met in the fifth grade in Brighton, about seven miles west of Boston. In 2009, Buccacio's mother passed away from terminal cancer. 290 days later, his father, who he's named after, died. Just one day before he passed, both Jeffs were in the studio working on art. It hit the younger Buccacio hard.

"When I was told that I got the job, I was honored. I was truly honored," Buccacio said. "My father and I used to go and watch the Pats at the old stadium and I have many incredible childhood dreams with my dad, watching guys in Pats uniforms, and he's no longer with me. So that in particular was something that I really I felt my father's presence through the whole project, because he loves Tom Brady."

Buccacio's father was his son's best friend and was just as big a Patriots fan as anyone the younger Buccacio knew. He felt the weight of pressure to sculpt the statue, not just of the region's football hero, but his dad's as well.

"I felt the weight of my dad, wanting to do good by my dad, but also by Patriots nation," Buccacio said. "I knew that this was something that could either be well received or not well received, or maybe some sort of a mix. Point being, I put my heart and soul into this project. [...] It's done amazing things for me with the healing of the loss of my dad."

"There Was No One Play We Could Single Out"

When the Patriots officially chose Buccacio as the artist for the project (which included an on-site interview at Gillette Stadium), he was soon given almost everything he could need from the organization. From pictures of Brady, to his actual uniforms and cleats, and even a Patriots staffer who posed as the quarterback, Buccacio had all he needed at his disposal.

So why did Buccacio and the team settle on the pose?

"There was no one play that we could single out in Tom Brady's career that could really embody his life's work," Dwight Darian, Patriots director of brand identity, said in a video posted by the Patriots. "I think I ended up giving Jeff somewhat in the neighborhood of 200 photos."

Those who helped make the final decision, including chief marketing officer Jen Ferron, senior vice president of marketing Ali Towle and vice president of communications Stacey James, all gravitated toward a pose that didn't represent a single moment, but Brady's career as a whole.

"I think that what we as sculptors try to do is we try to give somebody an image that will possibly bring them back to a moment, or make them think, or make them celebrate 20 years of a football player's unrepeatable career," Buccacio said. "It's a little more specific, but I think that art in general, if it's not engaging the viewer, to think, ponder, to appreciate, then I don't think it's doing its job."

It was time to work on the bigger model. After the three-foot model was completed and approved on, it was time to make 3D scans and move to a larger scale. Buccacio scanned the piece with lasers and imported in onto their computer software. Now, instead of the sculptor being the tallest in the room, he's looking up at Brady.

"After that process was completed, final approval was made for the clay," Buccacio said. "We then molded it, and then we cast it in bronze, and we cast it in approximately 30 sections that all needed to get individually cast in metal and then brought all back together."

Once it became attached together — with metal beams inside Brady — it was transported via crane onto the plot of concrete where it sits now. An early morning wake-up call led to Buccacio and his crew working to firmly place Brady onto the plaza at 4 a.m.

And not even three months into being displayed, it's already faced the force of an October nor'easter that hit Massachusetts.

"We had a stainless steel interior structure that we had our engineers design with us so that the piece could withstand gale force winds," Buccacio said. "That's what we designed for. We designed so if there was a 120 mile an hour wind corridor running through that plaza, that statue would still be standing."

"I'm Only Trying To Be A Better Version Of Myself"

Buccacio knew he had to get out of Hollywood. His career making casts for some of the biggest movies in the world had come to an end, and he knew it.

He worked on the sets of Iron Man and Spider-Man, while also getting to work with Steven Spielberg for Jurassic Park. He had enough. He decided to pack up, move across the country back home and open up his own studio.

"I was watching my daughter grow up through text message and photographs, and I turned around to my wife and I said, 'You remember when I told you I wasn't going to leave Hollywood until I felt like I had squeezed every last bit of juice out of it and I was ready to go home?' " Buccacio recalled. "She said yes. ... Before I knew it, our house sold in 18 hours. There was a bidding war on our front lawn, and we packed up and left, and came back here."

Buccacio credits his mentors as those who helped him navigate the journey that is being a master sculptor. He implicitly trusts their judgment when it comes to the artwork. He would have them stop by the studio to judge not just the statue, but how it took up the space. How it can be seen from the parking lot.

Back in his home state, his clay molding room is surrounded by pieces that he says inspire him to be better. Buccacio continued to stress that there needs to be a loss of ego when it comes to making public art. He is well aware that whatever art he makes won't please the masses, but he's come to terms with it.

Once the 2,000 pound statue is firmly placed atop the 12,000 pound stone base, there's nothing he can do anymore — except continuing to look inward and constantly try and improve his craft.

"I can't rank myself," Buccacio said. "I'm only trying to be a better version of myself. It's not my job. It's not my place to do that. It's the fans, it's you, it's other art critics. It's art critics that I respect."

"We Expect Things To Be Perfect Around Here, And You've Exceeded My Expectations"

There were initial fears that the statue had gotten keyed by someone — "It's just the eyelets on the shoes grazing across," Buccacio said, saying it doesn't do anything to the statue except leave the base a tad unsightly. Go to the Gillette Stadium plaza on any given day, and there will be a line to take a picture with the bronzed Brady. Sometimes, you might catch a glimpse of Buccacio, who just hangs off to the side and observes.

Often times, Buccacio will arrive at the statue to clean it. With a coffee in hand, he just sits and watches. Most people who visit the bronzed Brady wouldn't recognize the sculptor, but when they do, the outpour of love can be a lot.

"Often times, people will recognize me, and it's really overwhelming how nice they are to me, how grateful they are, and we take pictures," Buccacio said. "It's great. It's a great time. I think it's a testament to Tom's effect on all of us."

The attention that Buccacio has gotten after the unveiling could have gone to his head. Instead, he insists it's a team effort, and after his first interview with Patriots on SI, made sure to reiterate via text that his family deserve just as much credit as he does.

"My participation in this project would not have been possible without my best friend, soulmate and creative partner, my wife Nina," Buccacio said. "She has always been my biggest supporter, and harshest and most honest critic, as well as the love and support of my daughter Arianna Marie and (my son) Jeffrey III."

His harshest critic is also his business partner, who helped with some of the finer details around the statue.

"I'm his eyes in mainly the detailed areas," said Nina in a video released by the Patriots. "I'm better at the lower areas. Jeff tends to get on the scaffolding and I stay down here. ... On the smaller version, Jeff tended to ask my opinion on the hair. Back in the day, I was a hair stylist."

Everything about the statue is intentional, Buccacio says. You're not supposed to see the uniform numbers or any of the jersey details from the parking lot — it's supposed to draw you closer to the artwork. When the sun goes down, and the lights below the base turn on, it was a purposeful decision to have the statue's shadow glow against the back of the stadium lighthouse.

And though Buccacio might not want to admit it, he's now a major piece of New England Patriots history.

"Mr. Kraft walked in, and he looked right up at it, and he didn't take his eyes off of it and turned around to me," Buccacio recalled. "(He) reached his hand out, he said, 'You know Jeff, we expect things to be perfect around here, and you've exceeded my expectations.' I've been waiting almost two years to hear him say that, I think I'm gonna sleep a little bit better tonight."

"It's All Downhill From Here"

So what's next for Buccacio?

While it felt emotionally draining working on the Brady statue, he still has projects to complete. A massive sculpture for Billy Joel sits near completion on his work floor, while a clay model for Tommy Lee waits in the wings. Buccacio has already moved onto his next piece of work.

"It's all downhill from here," the sculptor said. "I've worked for Steven Spielberg, I've worked for some of the biggest names in Hollywood, and I experienced that sort of deflation after working on a big film — if it was Jurassic Park or Hellboy or Spider-Man — but this one was really, this one was really an emotional journey for me."

His tools and original molds now sit in the Patriots Hall of Fame, overlooking the real thing on the stadium's plaza. He laughs when asked if it's true that he had left his actual glasses in the Hall's exhibit (it is). He gushes about watching the Patriots on the field, just like any fan would.

Buccacio still loves the trio of Brady, Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski. He listens to the latter two's podcasts, and subscribes to Brady's 199 newsletter. After all, he's just a big Patriots fan. Just one with his signature on a giant statue outside the stadium.

But the statue isn't about him. It's about the greatest football player ever. That's why Buccacio's name is hidden away near the bottom, out of plain sight. Just like he'd prefer it be.

"If someone's looking for it, then they'll find it," Buccacio laughs.

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