Although Tony Shalhoub was one of the main cast members of the NBC sitcom Wings, he’s more popularly known for his role in Monk. Shalhoub played the iconic title character and protagonist of the series, Adrian Monk. Moreover, it was on Monk that he earned his first Emmy Award nomination.
Shalhoub’s Adrian Monk’s character was a talented private police homicide consultant known for his obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and multiple phobias. Since the series finale on December 4, 2009, Monk has continued to be a career-defining and longest-running show on television. For more about the eccentric actor, here are 7 things you didn’t know about Tony Shalhoub.
Tony Shalhoub Was Born Into A Large Lebanese Maronite Family
The actor was born Anthony Marc Shalhoub in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on October 9, 1953. Shalhoub was born as the ninth child, having only one younger sibling. He and his nine siblings were all raised in their Lebanese Maronite household by their father, Joseph Shalhoub, and mother, Helen Seroogy. Shalhoub’s father emigrated to the United States when he was 10, after the death of his parents in World War I. Tony Shalhoub’s mother was a Lebanese American born in Wisconsin to immigrant Lebanese parents.
He Has An MFA From Yale School of Drama
Tony Shalhoub spent all of his growing years in Green Bay, Wisconsin. After attending Green Bay East High School, Shalhoub enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. When he heard about the National Student Exchange program, Shalhoub chose to participate and became an exchange student at the University of Southern Maine. Leaving the Midwestern state of Wisconsin for the Northeasternmost state of Maine, Shalhoub quickly fell in love with the university and community. He requested a transfer and obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Drama from the University of Southern Maine. After graduating, Tony Shalhoub enrolled for his Master’s at the prestigious Yale School of Drama. Shalhoub graduated from Yale School of Drama in 1980 with a Master’s degree in Fine Arts.
Tony Shalhoub’s First Acting Experience Was At 6
One of his older sisters recommended him for an extra role in a High School play. Although not a major role, Tony Shalhoub was one of the extras in a school production of The King and I. The preparation and delivery quickly grew a passion for acting for the then-6-year-old Tony Shalhoub. He might not have known much at the time, but Shalhoub was certain he needed to take up acting professionally. Getting a bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Drama and Fine Arts was no coincidence.
He Began His Career In Theater
Tony Shalhoub wasted no time kick-starting his acting career, choosing to begin in theater. After graduating from Yale School of Drama in 1980, Shalhoub joined the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The actor spent four seasons with the American Repertory Theater before moving to New York City. In the Big Apple, Shalhoub made his Broadway debut in 1985. Interestingly, Shalhoub’s Broadway debut was The Odd Couple production, which starred Rita Moreno and Sally Struthers. Shalhoub received his first Tony Award nomination, a testament to his fantastic talent as a stage actor, in 1992. It was for his performance in Conversations with My Father, and he was nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
NBC’s Wings Was His Breakout Role
Tony Shalhoub made his screen acting debut in 1986 as a Terrorist in an episode of The Equalizer. He spent the next five years appearing in guest roles in TV shows. Shalhoub’s Antonio Scarpacci character in Wings was initially cast to make a guest appearance as a waiter in season 2. However, the character was upgraded to a main character in season 3 but as a cab driver. Playing the character with an Italian accent, Tony Shalhoub appeared on Wings from 1991 to 1997.
Tony Shalhoub’s Highest-Grossing Movies
Less than a month after Wings final episode aired, Tony Shalhoub was cast in his then-biggest movie of his career. Shalhoub played the sleazy alien pawn shop owner Jack Jeebs in Men in Black (1997). Sharing the screen with the film’s lead stars, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, the 1997 Men in Black grossed $589.4 million on a $90 million budget. Shalhoub reprised the role in the 2002 sequel Men in Black II.
Although it did not outgross its predecessor, Men in Black II was still a success, earning $441.8 million on a $140 million budget. Besides the Men in Black film series, Tony Shalhoub starred in another multi-million box office franchise. Voicing the character Master Splinter, Shalhoub was part of the voice cast of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016), which grossed $485 million and $245.6 million, respectively, at the Box Office. Although they do not compare to his box office juggernauts, Tony Shalhoub last appeared in Flamin’ Hot (2023) portraying Roger Enrico, and Adrian Monk in the 2023 television movie Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie.
Tony Shalhoub Is Married To Actress Brooke Adams
Tony Shalhoub and actress Brooke Adams first met while working in the 1988 Broadway production of Wendy Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles. The couple married in April 1992 and have been married ever since. Shalhoub and Adams have two children, Josie Lynn (1988) and Sophie Shalhoub (1993). While neither are their biological children, the couple adopted them and have loved them as their since they became a family. Brooke Adams adopted Josie Lynn before her marriage to Tony Shalhoub. After the marriage and Shalhoub’s adoption of Josie Lynn as his, the couple adopted Sophie Shalhoub together. If you loved watching Tony Shalhoub in Monk, check out the 7 best TV shows like Monk.
