Monk, up and close

Lately, Shalhoub, 53, has been adding to his resume not only as an actor but also as a producer and advocate, reaching back to his Arab-American roots. One of his projects, an upcoming independent film titled American East, tells about ordinary Arab-Americans in Los Angeles whose everyday lives and plans have been altered by the September 11 attacks.

“If ever there was a time for it to be done for the Arab-American community, it’s now,” he said. Interestingly, Shalhoub was raised as a Christian; he doesn’t speak Arabic

As for Monk, Shalhoub says, “The beauty of Monk for an actor is that it presents the ideal challenge, which is doing comedic stuff and dramatic stuff all together,” he said. Monk’s humour comes from his being a tragic clown along the lines of Charlie Chaplin, Shalhoub said.

In recent years, Shalhoub branched out from acting to direct (Made-Up with his wife, Brooke Adams) and produce (as a creative force in casting, writing and editing on Monk).

Shalhoub was ninth No. 9 in a family of 10 children whose father emigrated from Lebanon at 10, and whose mother was a second-generation Lebanese-American. Shalhoub was raised in Wisconsin, where his father ran a sausage company from a truck. “He wanted to expand that into a family-run company and mail-order business,” Shalhoub said. Every summer, the family gathers in Wisconsin for a vacation.

As for his next roles, Shalhoub says he’s not avoiding ethnic characters, nor is he seeking them out. Although Monk has no particular ethnicity, Shalhoub said it just hadn’t factored in the stories so far. “But you never know.”

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