Anthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub (born October 9, 1953) is a three-time Emmy Award- and Golden Globe-winning American television and film actor. He is currently the star and executive producer of the USA Network television show Monk, in which he plays an obsessive-compulsive detective who is often called on by the San Francisco Police Department to solve crimes no one else can. Before he played Adrian Monk, he was also well known for his role as the Sicilian cabdriver Antonio Scarpacci on the NBC television series Wings, on which he played the role from 1991 to 1997.
Tony Shalhoub spent his early life in Green Bay, Wisconsin. His father emigrated from Lebanon to the United States as an orphan at the age of ten, later marrying Shalhoub's mother, who herself originated from Lebanon. When Tony was just six, he was introduced to the theater, in a school production of "The King and I". He graduated from Green Bay East High, and then graduated with a bachelor's degree in drama from the University of Southern Maine before progressing to the Yale School of Drama, which he left with a Masters in 1980. After a time in the American Repertory Theatre, he moved to Broadway where he met his future wife, Brooke Adams (I), whom he married in 1992. Upon marrying her, Tony adopted Brooke's own adopted child, Josie Lynn (b. 1989). They had a daughter, Sophie, in 1993. Tony's first audition after arriving in Los Angeles was for Italian cabdriver Antonio Scarpacci in the long-running sitcom "Wings" (1990), which also starred Tim Daly and Steven Weber (I). Next, Tony had roles in Men in Black (1997), Men in Black II (2002), and Thir13en Ghosts (2001). His biggest break came, however, playing the obsessive-compulsive detective Adrian Monk in "Monk" (2002). The series made him a star and earned him four straight Emmy Award nominations between 2003 and 2006, for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Tony won the trophy in 2003, 2005 and 2006, proving how popular he has become after the success of "Monk" (2002), which continues to be very popular into its fifth year.
