Tony Shalhoub Talks Returning to MONK 14 Years Later
By Movieguide® Contributor
MONK star Tony Shalhoub reflected on what it means for him to return to his germaphobic character in MR. MONK’S LAST CASE: A MONK MOVIE.
“Mr. Monk’s Last Case finds Adrian at loose ends 12 years after the series ended. The MONK movie brings back most of the original cast, including Traylor Howard as his one-time assistant Natalie, and Jason Gray-Stanford and Ted Levine as old police detectives Randy and Stottlemeyer,” GQ summarized. “They’ve all reunited for Trudy’s daughter Molly’s (Caitlin McGee) wedding when a sudden murder case lands in their laps. The movie also introduces a timely antagonist: a tech billionaire with a shipping company who’s obsessed with going to space.”
The new movie takes place post-COVID-19, and Monk has “spent most of it in a full protective suit and using in-home rapid tests every 20 minutes.”
The movie sees the characters reunite 14 years after the USA Network show’s final episode in 2009.
Shalhoub shared how his character has changed in the years since the series ended.
“When we’re young, everything’s in front of us. And then when we’re in our middle ages, we feel more settled in the present. But then as we move beyond that, we mostly are looking backwards. We’re looking behind us and we’re reassessing and reevaluating,” he explained. “You know, ‘What have I done? What has been my footprint and my impact?’”
“And I think that’s exactly where Monk is: ‘What has all this meant? What have we really accomplished?’ That further perpetuates these very dark thoughts that he’s having,” the actor added.
Shalhoub believes that Monk’s insecurities and imperfections make him relatable.
“He uses them and turns them into an asset. Actually, for Monk, they become this superpower in a way,” he explained. “He doesn’t know where he fits into the general society. So he’s kind of always sort of like walking alongside of humanity and society. Maybe that also makes him a bit relatable.”
MR. MONK’S LAST CASE: A MONK MOVIE debuted on Peacock on Dec. 9.
Movieguide® previously reported:
The story of TV serial detective Adrian Monk continues in MR. MONK’S LAST CASE: A MONK MOVIE.
The upcoming movie’s creator, Andy Breckman, recently gave a sneak peek to Explore Entertainment…
“We’re so delighted to have made a movie version of Monk, and we are thrilled that every one of our stars were so enthusiastic about coming back,” said Breckman, Hoberman and Zisk in a statement. “But in coming back, we wanted to do a film that was worthy of our legacy. MR. MONK’S LAST CASE is a story that is powerful, emotional, funny, heartwarming, and has something to say about the human condition. And it will be both familiar and surprising…”
“When people ask me what the original series was about, I always say it was about loss,” Breckman said. “It was Monk dealing with the loss of his beloved wife, Trudy. And that, of course, we solved in the series finale. But the movie presents Monk with an equally emotional challenge that he has to step up and address. We found a way to raise the stakes yet again for this poor guy.”
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