Tony Shalhoub Talks Constructing a New Image and "Coincidental" Timing of 'Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'

Shalhoub discussed how he "constructs" his current onscreen persona, and how he works to "unravel that image" of 'Monk,' the role that made him famous.

"It just so happens that once we were doing the pilot then all of these news stories started to come out," Tony Shalhoub told The Hollywood Reporter of his series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The female-driven comedy starring Rachel Brosnahan and created by Amy Sherman-Palladino centers on a young woman finding her autonomy in 1950s America. Shalhoub, along with Brosnahan and Sherman-Palladino, who also contributed to the 2018 Emmy Roundtable series, called the connections between Maisel's plots and the #MeToo movement "coincidental."

When it comes to transforming into his onscreen character, Shalhoub says "it's the clothes" that enable that process. "The layers: I have a shirt, a tie, the sweatervest, the jacket, the coat."

"I was a kid in this time period," the actor told the Roundtable, "and so I have these images of my dad, and my uncles, and my parent's friends. It's a totally different thing, the way they dealt with their wives, the way they dealt with their children, or didn't."

He added: "I'm blessed that I can carry that into the work. It's part memory, and part our brilliant wardrobe/costume designer."

Shalhoub returned to television after portraying his title role of Monk for seven years. He told The Hollywood Reporter of what it means to play such an iconic character, saying, "You struggle to kind of unravel that image and construct a new one."

Shalhoub earned three Emmys and received five Emmy nominations for his leading role on the comedy Monk. He also won a Golden Globe and scored an additional four Golden Globe noms for the role. He recently won his first Tony Award for best actor in a musical for The Band's Visit.

The full Emmy Roundtables will air every Sunday on SundanceTV beginning June 24 and on THR.com the following Monday. The Comedy Actor Roundtable starring Tracy Morgan, Marc Maron, Louie Anderson, Ray Romano, Sean Hayes and Tony Shalhoub will air June 24 on Sundance TV. Tune in to THR.com/roundtables for more roundtables featuring talent from the year’s top shows.