Monk is kicking off its eighth and final season on August 7th, and I got the chance to take part in a Q&A with Tony Shalhoub a few days ago. It was a great time, and there were a lot of great answers. This was especially fun for me, because I've been a fan ever since Wings, and list Big Night (which came up) among my favorite films.
MONK -- USA Network Original Series -- Pictured: Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk -- USA Network Photo: Andrew Eccles
These things are often quite interesting, especially since you have no idea where the stream is heading. Tony was brilliant, and if you've seen or read other interviews with him, you know that it is hard not to love his love of what he does.
I'll include some information on the upcoming season below, but I'll cover the show itself in more detail later. I'll also throw in a chance to win something at the end. I'm also putting my question first, even though I was next to last... and I know how to load a dishwasher.
Here we go!
M. Eastman Hello, Tony. Thanks for taking the time. I actually just kind of wanted to go – probably a lot of these things have been covered, but what I was wondering is... the die hard fans don’t really need to be convinced to tune in to the new season, but for those who maybe know the show, but are not quite addicted yet, apart from the obvious things, is there anything you can give us about maybe why we really need to tune in to the new season?
(I even edited that slightly and it makes me look like I can hardly string a coherent sentence together. It's your turn. Go! Talk Now!)
T. Shalhoub Well, yes, that’s a really good question. I think people will be really gratified and startled maybe to see that the quality remains really, really high, that the stories are interesting, that we do a bit of what we’ve tried to do every season, which is kind of break our own rules and do some unexpected things. We always have interesting guest stars. We try to bring in people to do things that they may not be necessarily known for. We try to do our guest casting so that it isn’t completely on the nose. For example, we have Jay Moore coming in an upcoming episode that we shot recently. He plays a sort of super lawyer, a super kind of … Johnny Cochran super lawyer who never lost a case. And it’s really an interesting turn by Jay Moore. I think we keep it kind of just off center enough to make it interesting. I hope we do.
Moderator Thank you. The first question comes from the line of Jamie Steinberg with Starry Constellation Magazine.
J. Steinberg Hello. It’s such a pleasure to speak with you. I appreciate your time.
T. Shalhoub Thank you.
J. Steinberg I was wondering, what’s the lasting impression you want audience members to take from watching your show and watching you?
T. Shalhoub That’s a great question. I think, if I had to choose one thing, I would say that I would want people to take away this idea that sometimes people’s problems or neuroses are really the things that are kind of a blessing in disguise, and even though there’s, you know, sometimes there’s pain associated with these things that sometimes in the face of adversity with obstacles to overcome, people can really kind of soar and find their higher selves and I think that’s what we’ve tried to do on the show is we’ve portrayed this character as someone who turns his liability, his liabilities into assets per his life. And that there’s – and I hope that when we get to the end – I don’t know this for sure, but I hope when we get to the end of season eight that we’ll have seen some real healing from Monk, and I believe in that. I believe that there is healing and that there is change, and that all of those things are – they are just really, really key to all of our lives.
Moderator The next question comes from Jennifer Iaccino with Media Blvd.
J. Iaccino It’s wonderful to speak to you again. Actually, we met at the Upfront in Chicago, the USA event last year.
T. Shalhoub Yes, I remember. I remember. That was such a great night.
J. Iaccino Indeed, it was. I’ll try to make this quick. I wondered if you had any input into the new changes of Monk because, I mean, from the ads, it seems that he’s sort of looser and more comedic, and I wondered, I mean, because you mentioned that you really wanted to do a Galaxy Quest II. I mean, do you have a preference to comedy or drama or horror, because I know you’ve done Thir13en Ghosts, and you had a big part in 1408 and such, so I’m a big fan of yours. I’m sorry.
T. Shalhoub Thank you. No, I appreciate it. Well, I don’t really have a preference, to be honest. In fact, my preference, my only preference is to have a lot of variety and diversity in the material that I work on. I’ve been so fortunate throughout my career, when I was doing theater, more theater than anything else, and when I was doing films that I got a chance just to do a broad range of things. In fact, a lot of my choices that I made were about that very thing. Every project that I had an opportunity to do or chose to do, I wanted it to be different from the last thing I did, and I think that’s why I have a good, you know, I had kind of a diverse kind of résumé. I’m really – it’s what I set out to do as an actor originally.
Moderator The next question comes from Joshua Maloni with Niagara Frontier.
J. Maloni Tony, thanks for your time today.
T. Shalhoub Thank you.
J. Maloni You talked about the character and what he sort of means, but in terms of the pantheon of great television series, what sort of legacy do you think this show leaves, and what do you sort of take away from it in that regard?
T. Shalhoub Well, I think one of the things that will be remembered about this show, I hope will be remembered, is that at a time when there was, in a lot of television, especially with the onslaught of cable and in a period where television is kind of redefining itself, that there were precious few shows on the air that were suitable for a wider audience, like a younger audience, you know, people in their 30’s and then people like elderly people in the 70’s and 80’s. That there was a show that all those different demographics could tune into and appreciate, and would appreciate on their own level.
And I think there aren’t a lot of shows like that. There haven’t been a lot of shows like that in the last decade. And I hope that that’s something that people will focus on and remember for a long time, you know, that it’s still possible to do interesting stories and good comedy without having it have to be all exclusively adult themed kinds of things or super violent or with language that some people might feel is inappropriate for younger audiences, and that this show was kind of able to stand out and do that.
Moderator The next question comes from the line of David Martindale with Hearst Newspaper.
D. Martindale Hello, Tony. My first interview with you over the years was way back in Wings.
T. Shalhoub Wow.
D. Martindale And I think you’re one of the good ones, and I’ve always been happy for you, how well you’ve done for yourself, and the good work that you’ve done.
T. Shalhoub Thank you.
D. Martindale One time when I interviewed you, you mentioned that you’re the only one at your home who knows how to absolutely – the only right way to load the dishwasher, which struck me as a kind of Monk thing to say.
T. Shalhoub I’m not the only one in my home. I’m the only one in my community, I think, my entire neighborhood, I’m pretty sure.
D. Martindale Who knows how to load the dishwasher right? My question is, have you found that the longer you play Monk, that the differences between you, Tony, and the character has eroded, which is to say, have you become more like him, and he more like you, over the years?
T. Shalhoub I would say yes, absolutely. I mean, I resisted it for a long time. I wrestled with it. I fought with it. I was in denial about it and all of that. But inevitably, you know, there have been some – you know, as I said, in interviews too. I feel like I’ve been infected in some way by this character. Tendencies, you know, minor tendencies that I’ve had in my life prior to Monk have just kind of ballooned and expanded and it’s inevitably. I mean, I just, there’s no point in trying to – I’ve given up trying to resist it. I’ve had to just surrender to it. I mean, I’m hoping that when Monk is over that I’ll have some period of recovery, but I’m not holding my breath.
Moderator The next question comes from Jim Halterman with The Futon Critic.
J. Halterman Hello, Tony. How are you?
T. Shalhoub I’m well. Thank you.
J. Halterman I wanted to know, you know, how is the final season structured? I mean, the season premiere seemed like a very standard, great, hilarious episode, but when do we kind of get into the wrapping of things up?
T. Shalhoub Excellent question. What the writers have in mind is to do, you know, as you said, our normal standalone episodes for the first, I would say, 11, because we’re doing 16, as usual. So the first 11, I would say, are going to be standalone, and then the last 5 is when we’ll be kind of connected. They’ll have a connected tissue, and we’ll start to get into the wrap up, not just of Monk, but of some of the other characters as well. Then what they want to do is the final two episodes, number 15 and 16, it’ll just be one story, a two-part, you know, aired in two segments. Just to follow – that episode, I mean that two-part will involve the wrap up of Trudy’s murder, you know, the solving of Trudy’s murder.
Moderator The next question comes from Christine Nyholm with Examiner.com.
C. Nyholm Hello, Tony. Thanks for talking to us today.
T. Shalhoub Okay.
C. Nyholm I have to tell you. I’m from Wisconsin. You’re one of my mother’s favorite actors.
T. Shalhoub I’m in Wisconsin as we speak. I’m at a family reunion in Door County, so it’s beautiful here.
C. Nyholm Oh, it’s fantastic there, and that’s actually my question is, being from Wisconsin, how did you make your way from Wisconsin to Hollywood, and do your Midwestern roots impact your acting at all and how?
T. Shalhoub Boy, I think so. I think they do. I went to college on the East Coast in Portland, Maine (He said Maine!). I went to graduate school at Yale Drama School. I worked in the theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts for years, and moved to New York, and then to Los Angeles. I mean, that’s kind of the – that was kind of the roadmap of it.
But I also come back to Wisconsin every year, and I have family here, of course, and I don’t know. I just think there’s a – you know, this place kind of was a fantastic place to grow up and kind of keeps me kind of grounded and keeps me somewhat humble just to kind of return to it. Yes, I think it just keeps me balanced. I still have great, great friends and feel like it’s home.
Moderator The next question comes from the line of Laura Tucker with Small Screen Monthly.
L. Tucker Yes. Hello, Tony. Thanks for talking to us today.
T. Shalhoub Okay. Thank you.
L. Tucker Just to reflect on some of the earlier questions somewhat, but it’s a little more specific. Have you, Tony, learned anything from your years with the character of Adrian Monk, and do you think Adrian has learned anything from Tony?
T. Shalhoub Well, I think yes. I think I have learned something from Adrian. I think I’ve learned to – sometimes, you know, hyper-focusing on things is actually a good thing to do. Not all the time, and I wouldn’t want to be as kind of fixed – you know, get as fixated and as obsessed as Adrian, but sometimes, you know, I’ve found that it’s really helpful to look at things in my own life with the same kind of sort of relentlessness that Monk does, just turning something over and over and over and trying to see it from all angles, and not being too quick to judge something or label something. So in that sense, I feel like I’ve gained a little real life wisdom.
What has Monk gotten from me? Boy, I don’t know. That’s a really good question. I feel like Monk has maybe become a little more – because I was playing the role, maybe Monk has become a little more open to others and embraces to the level, to the degree that he can, embraces other people’s point of view. I feel like I’ve been that kind of a person in my life, open-minded.
Moderator The next question comes from Travis Tidmore with the Cinemaniac.
T. Tidmore Hello, Tony.
T. Shalhoub Hello.
T. Tidmore Over the years, you guys, as you’ve discussed, have had a lot of guest stars on the show.
T. Shalhoub Yes.
T. Tidmore I was wondering if you had a favorite over the years and maybe a favorite you’ve worked with so far this year.
T. Shalhoub It’s so hard for me to pick a favorite because there have been so many great ones, and I’ve had the chance to bring friends of mine on the show, I mean, people that I’ve worked with in the past like Stanley Tucci and John Turturro and people that I’ve always wanted to work with like Laurie Metcalf. But I have to say, of all of the seasons, and of all of the guest stars, the most thrilling for me was last season working with Gena Rowlands on Mr. Monk and the Lady Next Door. She was such a tremendous influence on me when I was a student and studying acting. I was a devotee of John Cassavetes movies and the movies she did even separate from him.
I was the one who actually when we were casting that particular episode, The Lady Next Door, there were a number of names on the list, and I pitched her name. And I was stunned and thrilled to find out that she wanted to do it. And then working those eight days with her was just, you know, I felt really, when we finished that episode, I felt like I could retire, that I had done everything I needed to do now. She was so gracious and so good, and of course she’s been nominated for an Emmy for that episode too, so I will hopefully see her at the Emmys in September.
Moderator The next question comes from Sandy Lo with Star Shine magazine.
S. Lo Hello, Tony. How are you today?
T. Shalhoub I’m very well. Thanks.
S. Lo I was just wondering. I know you talked about your favorite guest stars, but I was wondering if you had a particular favorite episode of Monk.
T. Shalhoub Man. This is so difficult because I have so many that are just so near and dear to me. I kind of will reframe the question in the answer, I think. The ones that – I will say the ones where I think we did, where we’ve done the best, in other words, those episodes where we did 100% of what we set out to do or 100% of how we imagined the show should be in a perfect world when we’re doing our job – just the best. Those episodes would be, I would say, the first John Turturro episode where we meet the character of Ambrose. That was called Mr. Monk and the Three Pies.
Another favorite of mine was Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine because it was a chance for me to do this character almost as a different character – see a different part of him emerge. We did an episode that we just shot in the first part of season eight, which will be airing in about a month. It’s called Mr. Monk is Someone Else, and it’s an episode where it’s basically … assume this character of a man who looks just like him, but the character happens to be a professional hit man for the mafia, and this character dies, and Monk is asked to take on, you know, to take this guy on and become him. And so those opportunities to kind of transform within the character are really, really challenging and satisfying.
Moderator The next question comes from Jessica Mahn with FanBolt.com.
J. Mahn Hello. Good morning.
T. Shalhoub Good morning.
J. Mahn What’s the most memorable moment you’ve had filming the series?
T. Shalhoub The most memorable moment? I can’t remember my most memorable. I think I would have to say the most memorable moment would be when I was doing the episode with Stanley Tucci, Mr. Monk and the Actor, and he and I were, you know, having been reunited from having worked together for a number of times, he and I sort of, in the climax of the episode where I take the gun away from him, and we’re kind of sitting on the floor leaning up against this counter thing, you know, kind of our arms over each other’s shoulders because it was reminiscent of a moment in Big Night, which was such a gigantic turning point for me, I think, in terms of film of my career. So in that moment in Monk kind of reminded me of the moment in the movie was pretty emotional, a pretty emotional time.
Moderator Your next question comes from the line of Tom Parsons with Blog Critics.
T. Parsons Tony, thanks for taking our calls today.
T. Shalhoub Sure.
T. Parsons I have a question about the character and how much freedom you have to kind of riff on the OCD? It seems like there are moments in different episodes are just complete adlib where you’re just playing that personality trait more for the comedic effect. How much freedom do you have to just kind of take an idea and run with it?
T. Shalhoub Well, I have an enormous amount of freedom. In terms of dialog, I try to stay really close to the script. We all do, but we do have a writer with us on the set every moment, and we’re always pitching ideas to this writer/producer and seeing what we can get away with. But as far as physical behavior and things that I discover that may not be in the script, but are, but we discover in whatever environment we’re in, whether it’s somewhere outdoors or somewhere in an office or wherever the setting may be. I’ve been able to kind of just find things and work with them. That’s what’s really been so exciting because it’s kind of, there’s an endless, believe me, playing an OCD character with some of those tendencies myself, there’s an endless, endless array of stuff to become preoccupied with out there in the world, whether it’s intentioned by the script or completely unintentional.
Moderator The question will come from Sheldon Wiebe with Eclipse Media.
S. Wiebe Something that I’ve always liked about the series is that Monk’s OCD may be the source of some comedic moments, but it’s never been treated as a gimmick. It’s never been played that way. And every year, Monk has to do something large like I’m thinking of the scene where, the sequence where he was in the sewer.
T. Shalhoub Yes.
S. Wiebe Sometimes when it’s life and death, he can overcome the OCD, but we know he’ll never be completely without it. How do you figure the season will find him in terms of the OCD, solving the case with Trudy will give him a little more control, or will he spin further out because there won’t be that big goal?
T. Shalhoub No, I think it will give him some – I think it will actually help him, and it will give him some kind of peace and some kind of – and in that peace, his OCD symptoms will begin to, you know, significantly drop away. And when that happens, I think he’ll be able to move forward in his life. You know, he won’t feel so paralyzed. He won’t feel so – he won’t have such an aversion to being with other people. He might even, who knows – I don’t know because the writers haven’t revealed this to me, but he might even be able to find love and romance in his life again. All those things, I think, remain, you know, all those things are on the table and are good possibilities.
Here's a bit of info from a press release about the upcoming season, which really looks great.
MONK, the critically acclaimed original series starring Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG award winner Tony Shalhoub, premieres its eighth and final season on USA Network on Friday, August 7, 2009 at 9/8c. MONK remains one of the highest-rated original scripted series in basic cable history.
Tony Shalhoub (“Big Night,” “Wings,” “Men in Black,” “Cars”) has earned three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and two SAG Awards for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his portrayal of Adrian Monk, a brilliant detective who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. Monk's psychological disorder costs him his position as a legendary homicide detective on the San Francisco Police force. Due to the tragic unsolved murder of his wife, Monk has developed an abnormal fear of germs, heights, crowds and virtually everything else, which provides an unusual challenge to solving crimes … not to mention his day-to-day existence.
Guest-stars for season eight include Elizabeth Perkins, Rena Sofer, Dylan Baker, Meat Loaf, Bernie Kopell, Jay Mohr, Daniel Stern, Alex Wolff, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Eric Balfour, Kelly Carlson, and Reed Diamond. Special appearances will also be made by Tim Bagley as Monk's nemesis Harold Krenshaw and Bitty Schram (“A League of their Own”). Schram co-starred on the show from its inception as Monk’s beloved nurse and “Girl Friday” sidekick, Sharona Fleming.
And, through our friends at muzeclothing.com, I'm giving away one of their awesome movie shirts. All the talk about past episodes of Monk really got me thinking about all the great guest stars and episodes, so leave a comment telling me about your favorite guest star or episode, and you are entered to win the pictured shirt. Click the picture for more information. Winner will be randomly chosen on September 1st.
Here's a cool USA Network Promo for Monk
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About Marc Eastman
Marc Eastman is the owner and operator of Are You Screening? and has been writing film reviews for over a decade, and several branches of the internet's film review world have seen his name. His reviews have brought him personal praise from the director of a major motion picture, and have been used as required reading in a course at a major University. These priceless rewards, along with just bags of cash, keep him from straying from freelance writing. He is also a member of The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The Broadcast Television Journalists Association.
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