Tony Shalhoub on Whether the 'Monk' Movie Is Really Adrian's 'Last Case'

Contrary to the title, Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie, Tony Shalhoub would be open to investigating another case as Adrian Monk.

"I certainly would want to keep the door open. I don't see a reason to, you know, to say never," the Emmy Award-winning actor told Parade in an exclusive new interview.

Then why the title? Shalhoub laughed, "Because [creator] Andy [Breckman] has a sick sense of humor and I think he just laid that out there as a kind of a tease, you know, so people like you would ask this question and it would create a conversation about it. Cause that's how his mind works. I know."

The film, which comes 14 years after the USA Network series ended, scored a Critics Choice Award nomination prior to its Dec. 8 premiere on Peacock. While fans are already clamoring for more Monk, Shalhoub doesn't think a reboot series is necessary at this point.

"I think it's always good to leave the viewers and the fans wanting more. Not over saturating," The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel alum said, noting that occasional Monk films would be a better way to go.

With this first Monk movie, Shalhoub knew that they had to "do a bang up job” because the original series ended "on such a high note.”

“I really felt that it'd be a mistake to kind of come in under that,” the Golden Globe winner said. "We needed to top ourselves and so we worked really, really hard to make it special. To make it not feel just like episode 126 and I really feel like we accomplished that."

Continue reading to find out what Tony Shalhoub told Parade about venturing into uncharted waters in Mr. Monk's Last Case and why they couldn't have done the film's final scene on the TV series...

Was the idea for the movie there before the pandemic?

No. There was talk about reprising the role for a TV movie, but the treatments, the scripts were different. I didn't feel a compelling reason to revisit it. We ended on such a high note with our finale in the eighth season. Ratings were great. We were very proud of the two-part finale. And I think there was one script that never quite got to see the light of day and another script that we were gonna do, but the network kind of changed their mind about it. But then we did that public service announcement when COVID hit. We just did it for that reason. We had no agenda. Just to see how this character would be behaving during COVID. And that public service announcement, the reception, the reaction to it was so strong. People loved it. Loved seeing all these characters again. So that gave us all the idea that maybe there's an appetite for this show after all, and we used the pandemic as the jumping off point.

It was exciting to see you all reunite and to see how Adrian was navigating this COVID world. Did you find yourself at times relating to Monk during the pandemic?

Oh, absolutely. I kept thinking, well this character, if people watch it in reruns during and after the pandemic, he's not gonna look so neurotic anymore. He's going look more like the canary in the coal mine.

In the movie, Monk tells his therapist that going back to work was like riding a bicycle. Did slipping back into this character feel the same way for you?

You know, it's changed somewhat. We're all older. The world is different. A lot has happened in those 14 years just overall, in the society and the culture across the world... All of the actors, the whole creative team, everyone's a little different. But I think that's a good thing. I think it's interesting to see how everything has evolved.

Did you rewatch the series prior to filming the movie?

No. I mean, occasionally I'll catch an episode or something just in reruns, but I didn't feel a need to revisit because I knew that we weren't going to be picking up where we left off and somehow, anyway, the character of Monk lives somewhere inside me in some recesses of my brain and I wanted to approach it in a new fresh way.

Did you have any concerns returning to this world, Monk's world?

No. My only concern was that, you know, I knew we would have to do a bang up job on this movie. For me, the risk, because again because we ended on such a high note and because that last season and especially the finale was so strong, I really felt that it'd be a mistake to kind of come in under that. We needed to top ourselves and so we worked really, really hard to make it special. To make it not feel just like episode 126 and I really feel like we accomplished that.

Monk is worse off than when fans last saw him in the series finale. Were you surprised when you read the [movie] script to see Adrian in such a dark place?

I was a little surprised, but I was happy about it, too, because I felt like we needed to go that extra step. We needed to go darker than we had ever gone before. It gives us a reason to come back to it. It's a little bit of a risk because it takes us into uncharted waters, but on the other hand, they did such a great job of making sure that the comedy was so bright and goofy and out there that it balanced it out.

I was gonna ask if it was hard to balance, but there were those moments of levity with the dog poop and the blow up doll. 

We touched on it a few times during our eight seasons. Monk, the comedy can get sort of broad at times. It can even border on the absurd. It can just be bumping up against the absurd sometimes, as long as you don't kind of cross over. And I think they really were able to recapture that in the movie.

Let's talk about that poop scene...We have Adrian stepping on poop, calling for help and asking to amputate his leg...What was your reaction to that scene and how did you keep a straight face through it?

You know, it was hard. It was really hard. We shot that a lot of different ways and we shot a lot of takes and they kind of let me riff while I was flailing around on the ground. That scene went on a lot longer. I mean, I just [laughs] I kind of in certain takes, I just kind of milked it and milked it and the more we did it, the crazier it got. In editing we had to whittle it down to the best moments, but yeah. They made a lot of poop. Let me just put it that way... It was really disgusting. I don't know what they were using, but it came out of one of those, you know how they do like a cake frosting, where they like write or whatever to make flowers and things. It was really, really awful. But I can promise you that it wasn't actually what you think it is.

Related: We Are Men Star Tony Shalhoub on Life after Monk

As I was watching, I saw parallels between the movie and It's a Wonderful Life. I later read that Andy [Breckman] was inspired by the Christmas classic. I think that shows the holiday movie still resonates today. Do you think the Monk movie will resonate 77 years from now?

[Laughs] Boy, I hope so. You know, what Andy has done so beautifully here, he's created this kind of every man, underdog, you know, always underestimated savant. And I don't know, people seem to relate to him. I know that young people relate to him because he's, you know, being an adolescent or being a teenager, you're always kind of feeling awkward and you're in between childhood and adulthood and you're not really sure how to navigate the world and social situations, and that's Monk to a tee. He's just, he's awkward. He's never matured or evolved in those ways. So he's kind of relatable in that way. I don't know. Certainly the show has survived in reruns for the last decade and a half, so who knows.

The final scene of the movie is a very emotional ending. Did you cry or get teary eyed reading the script and later filming that scene?

No. I felt like it was working. I had a really good feeling that it was working. And I was really pleased that the studio, the network provided. They really stepped up because it involved a lot of background people. It was expensive, that shot. I mean that whole sequence. A crane shot, a crane on a dolly track and they really, really put the resources behind it to make it work. We couldn't have done that scene during the series. We just didn't have the wherewithal. We didn't have the budget to do that kind of thing. They gave us time. They gave us enough money to give it that scope, so I was thrilled because I was worried, "Oh, maybe there'll be 15 or 20 extras. or something like with CGI maybe"...This just won't work. This park was enormous, so we had a great palette, a canvas to work with. But I wanted to make sure that we didn't get too emotional, that the emotion would be for the audience to have and not for the actors to indulge in.

What do you think of fans' reactions to the movie? I've seen on social media, people saying they cried, they need more, [and the movie] was an early Christmas gift.

I'm not on social media, so I haven't seen that, but I'm thrilled that the movie landed the way we intended it to.

With fans clamoring for more and the movie receiving a Critics Choice nomination, do you believe this is actually Adrian's last case?

[Chuckles] Well, we've been asked that. If only it were up to me. It's not. I guess it depends. I have heard that they're going to roll out this movie in different markets, you know, like in Europe and other parts of the world eventually. So maybe it will depend on how it fares out there in the global marketplace. I certainly would want to keep the door open. I don't see a reason to say never.

I'm curious, why do you think the movie was titled the "Last Case"?

Because Andy has a sick sense of humor [chuckles] and I think he just laid that out there as a kind of a tease, you know, so people like you would ask this question and it would create a conversation about it. Cause that's how his mind works. I know.

Given the choice, would you want another movie, or would you prefer a reboot of the series?

I think occasional movies would be a better way to go... I don't think a series would really be necessary at this point. I think it's always good to leave the viewers and the fans wanting more. Not over saturating. And I think we can do more with features.

Well, this year aside from saying hello to an old friend, Monk, you said goodbye to Abe on Maisel. What's next for you?

Well, I have a couple of things that are in the pipeline, but nothing that's 100 percent greenlit. But I've been reading a lot of plays, and I've been doing workshops and readings of plays... It's been a number of years since I've done theater. So I'd like to get back to that. And I'm looking for the next thing.

Related: Rachel Brosnahan and Tony Shalhoub Riff on the Idea of a Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Musical 

Obviously Maisel just ended this year, so it's too soon, but do you feel like down the road, Abe is a character you could reprise?

I wouldn't know. I don't know how these things play out. Of course our whole cast of Maisel, we really miss it. We feel like we went out on a good note. Feel like the last season was a complete home run. A Grand Slam, really. I don't know if it's even possible to reassemble all of that. They did such a good job with the flash forwards of painting those pictures of where these characters end up. So I don't know.

Does the cast still keep in touch together messaging? 

Oh sure. And we'll be back together next month for awards [shows]. The Emmys are coming up in January. So we all reunite for that.

Now, last question before I let you go. Adrian in [Monk] would say it's a gift and a curse. I want to know, what do you consider to be your gift and curse?

In my own life you mean?

Yeah, in your own life.

Oh. My gifts are many, many. My health, my marriage, my family, my children and my grandchildren. My friends. The longevity that I have had in my career. As far as a curse, boy, I can't think of a curse. Maybe, I guess the curse is that, you know, that dreading that somewhere down the road I won't work or the business will sort of cross me off and my name drops off whatever list there is out there. Because I really do love my work and I would love to keep going.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Next, How to Watch the 'Monk' Movie