Tony Shalhoub makes difficult company worth watching. We particularly value his work opposite Stanley Tucci in Big Night, where brotherly affection never smooths away the irritation of having to work together.
Fi1m perspective
In Big Night (1996), Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci quarrel as though neither expects to be heard. Shalhoub's Primo and Tucci's Secondo care about their restaurant, but that gives the brothers plenty of reasons to irritate each other. We laughed because every complaint sounded as though it had been ignored for years. Shalhoub lets us believe in the affection without making Primo easier company. This is the acting we value most in him: funny, attentive to another performer and willing to be difficult.
His early screen work included Antonio Scarpacci in Wings (1991–1997) and Ben Geisler in the Coen brothers' Barton Fink (1991). Big Night gave him a leading role as an uncompromising chef, with Tucci as co-star and director. The extra room matters because we can see what Primo's stubbornness costs the brothers in their daily dealings. The writing sometimes makes artistic integrity too easy to defend. The actors are more persuasive when they let their shared concern for the restaurant become another cause of friction.
Minnie Driver, Ian Holm and Isabella Rossellini share that ability to hold our attention without making a conspicuous bid for it in Big Night. Shalhoub belongs in their company, and the lack of showiness suits a film prepared to spend time on food and on the difficulties of working together. The comedy allows us to laugh at the brothers without dismissing either one's unhappiness.
His Jeebs in Barry Sonnenfeld's Men in Black (1997) is a comic supporting turn in a film chiefly sustained by Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. Shalhoub also plays German in Andrew Niccol's Gattaca (1997), whose thoughtful science fiction occasionally suffers from its solemnity. We recommend both films, without pretending that either is principally an occasion to watch him. A good supporting actor need not be the main reason a film works.
Television subsequently gave him a longer stretch at the centre: Adrian Monk in Monk (2002–2009). It gave him room to build an idiosyncratic character across a long-running series. He later played Abe Weissman in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017–2023), returning to a supporting role. See Big Night for the pleasure of watching him and Tucci disagree.
Biography
Tony Shalhoub is an American actor. Born on 9 October 1953 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, he studied drama at the University of Southern Maine and earned an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. He began his career in theatre, performing with the American Repertory Theatre and appearing on Broadway in productions including Conversations with My Father.
Shalhoub's film roles include Ben Geisler in Barton Fink (1991) and Primo in Big Night (1996). He is also known for parts in Men in Black (1997) and its sequel, Galaxy Quest (1999), and voicing Luigi in the Cars films. On television he played Antonio Scarpacci in Wings (1990–1997) and the title character in Monk (2002–2009). He has received three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his performance in Monk.
