Anthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub (born October 9, 1953) is a Lebanese-American actor, best known for his role as obsessive-compulsive sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk.

Early life

Shalhoub was born and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin. His father, Joe Shalhoub, emigrated from Lebanon to the United States as an orphan at the age of 10. He married Shalhoub’s mother, Helen, a second-generation Lebanese-American, and founded a family grocery chain, starting with a store in downtown Green Bay.

The second youngest of the couple's 10 children, Tony Shalhoub was introduced to the theater by an older sister who put his name forward as an extra in a high school production of The King and I. Despite finding himself standing on the wrong side of the curtain during the final dress rehearsal, he became addicted to the theater. Shalhoub graduated from Green Bay East High School, where his senior peers named him the best dressed and most likely to succeed. In his senior year he suffered a setback, breaking his leg in a fall off the stage into the pit during a rehearsal. Recovering quickly, he was able to perform in the school's final play of the year. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in drama from the University of Southern Maine in Portland, going on to earn a masters from the Yale School of Drama in 1980.