TONY SHALHOUB IT'S GOOD to Be Back

The award-winning actor talks about his life and the return of Adrian Monk

- Fortune Benatar

For Tony Shalhoub and the cast of Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie, it was like returning home. The new TV film, currently streaming on Peacock, returns to the life of Adrian Monk, an investigator who suffers from an obsessive-compulsive disorder, nearly 15 years after the original Monk series finale. “By the end of the first day of shooting, it was like we never left it at all,” Tony, 70, tells Closer. Of course, there were some concessions to the time that has passed since Monk first aired on USA Network. “Now that I’m 14 years older, the physical parts were a little challenging,” Tony confides. “I told the writers, ‘Can we just not write scenes where I’m running around getting chased or chasing someone?’ That doesn’t come quite as easy as it did when I was younger.”

What convinced you to return to playing Adrian Monk again?

They just came up with a great idea and such a great story. This movie sort of pushes the boundaries in both directions. The dramatic stuff is a little darker than we ever went before, and the comedic stuff is a little wilder. But it’s still got all of the really great elements of the show and the relationships that people have come to love. I think people who are fans of the show or even new to it will really enjoy it.

Was it hard to get back into that character after so long?

Yes. It was a little strange in the beginning, a little daunting. We put all these characters and this story to bed 14 years ago. But the material, the energy of the crew and cast and the creative team, was so invigorating that it was a true labor of passion.