No wonder Tony Shalhoub plays his role as detective Adrian Monk in the comedy Monk so well.  Like his character, he is also a perfectionist.

Shalhoub talked to the Detroit Free Press about his early days working as a waiter.  “I was always on the verge of being fired because the manager kept saying, ‘You have to go faster!'” he said.  “I wanted to make sure everything was right.  And you didn't want to throw food at these people.  I would say, ‘Are the people complaining?'  They'd say, ‘No, we just see you're not working too fast enough.'  I just wanted to make sure I had it all right.”

This quirk of his often cost him his job, he said.  But not so for his role on Monk. In this case, his perfectionism bled into his role as the obsessive-compulsive detective in the award-winning hit series on the USA Network, whose seventh season premieres tonight.  In fact, he is allowed to be just that, without fear of retribution.  And his performance just earned him a sixth Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy Actor this year, so he must be doing something right.

Shalhoub may not have most of the quirks that his character possesses, but he still tries to take things loosely sometimes.  “I try to be loose.  But I'm told, on a regular basis by my kids and wife, to lighten up a bit.  ‘Let it go,'” he said.

Tonight's premiere involves Adrian Monk dealing with a new neighbor who tends to play music too loud to his liking.  He decides to move out of the house and buy a new one—but it also proves to be a pain, and he ends up hiring a handyman who's determined to rip the entire house down.  ‘Til Death's Brad Garrett guest stars in tonight's episode, which airs at 9pm on the USA Network.


-Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Detroit Free Press
(Image courtesy of USA Network)