MFP: The Interviews

This is where we keep all the little interviews we've done for The Monk Fun Page. The most recent interviews are with Sandra Luesse (Waitress in Mr. Monk's Other Brother), Tim Bagley (Harold Krenshaw) Melissa Strom (Young Clerk, "Mr. Monk and the Miracle") Ernie Grunwald (Vampire Manager in "Mr. Monk's 100th Case"), Casper Van Dien (Lt. Albright, "Mr. Monk is Underwater"), James Lesure (Ray Regis, "Mr. Monk Takes a Punch"), Malcolm Barrett (Malcolm O'Dwyer, "Mr. Monk Gets Lotto Fever") Heather Brooker (Gushing Fan, "Mr. Monk Gets Lotto Fever") and Amy Crofoot (Make-up artist "Mr. Monk Gets Lotto Fever"). From last season I've got John Bobek (Brother Zack, "Mr. Monk Joins a Cult"), Eve Gordon and Bill Chott who guest star in "Mr. Monk Goes to the Bank" and Brian Prescott who is a guest actor in the first part of the sixth season finale, "Mr. Monk is on the Run".

My pride and joy is the one minute interview I had with Tony Shalhoub in January 2004, the night his film Made-Up debuted in New York City and, coincidentally, the night "Mr. Monk and the Three Pies" premiered.

Without exception all of the guest stars and production people who have given me interviews over the past few years have been accommodating, gracious and amusing. I think Monk is a magnet for those kind of people. Of course, the other kind may just be avoiding me.

Tony Shalhoub and I are introduced in a ridiculously cold hall (January 2004)

It's a little dusty now, but please check out my exclusive interview with "Da Man" himself. Well, more of a brief chat really and with a couple dozen other people within earshot, it's not precisely exclusive.

Interview Excerpt: "I don't check out those web sites. I'm afraid of them."

A big "thank you" to Lynn Chapman of Sister Films for making the introductions, and to Lynne Adams, Brooke Adams and Tony Shalhoub for making the terrific film Made-Up which was well worth the venture into the New York cold (also now available on DVD.) If you have the opportunity you must see it. You'll thank me later.

September 2007

Monk staff writer David Breckman has written a ton of episodes, including "Mr. Monk is Up All Night" the 6.0 half season finale. Monk creator Andy Breckman is his big brother and he probably gets tired of being introduced that way. David is a Los Angeles resident, a newlywed and a virgin Monk director this season.

Interview Excerpt: "We expected some controversy. We expected some indignation. We knew how much people loved Bitty and she was wonderful in the part, no one’s arguing about that. But I gotta say that we’re thrilled to death with Traylor Howard."

Charles Evered wrote the season five noir-ish episode "Mr. Monk and the Leper" which leant itself so well to the experimental (at least for Monk) black and white treatment. The episode aired in shades of gray and in color on December 22nd 2006. Viewers were then asked to vote for one or the other. (I voted for black & white, but what do I know? Color won.)

Interview Excerpt: "I had seen the series before I wrote for it, and I'm particularly fascinated with the character of Monk — I think he's very different from a lot of characters on television in that he's flawed, and more complex."

Paula and Terry are the authors of the magnificent and indispensable Monk Episode Guide. Please buy one so they can start on the update to include season five, six and beyond.

Interview Excerpt: "There's a lot more to it then just the actors going on stage. There are those people, those behind the scenes names that you see. They're incredibly talented people as well. We tried to cover a few of them in the book, by the way. I tried to interview as many people as we had time to in the constraints we had."

Monk screenwriter ("Mr. Monk Goes to Mexico," "Mr. Monk Meets the Godfather" and Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing") Monk novelist, dolphin dialogue expert and Pierce Brosnan look alike, Lee Goldberg will talk to anyone, anywhere or at least that's the conclusion I reached after I stuttered and giggled through an interview with him at a Chinese restaurant in San Mateo. Well, he was articulate in any case.

Interview Excerpt: "Crafting a story with Andy [Breckman] and his staff is so much fun. I mean, you just laugh all day long. So much stuff doesn’t get in the script that’s bandied around the room. It’s hilarious. It’s so different from all my other professional television experiences. It’s much looser, much more casual, much more fun."

Craig Pettigrew is the Music Editor for Monk. He knows everything there is to know about music for the show. He emailed me answers to a bunch of musical questions I've been saving up for just such an opportunity.

Interview Excerpt: "The rock concert show had its difficulties, as I inherited a lot of on-camera performances where the lip sync was terrible, and all I had was a stereo mix of the vocal and band. Usually, a music editor is on the set for these kind of playbacks, but Monk is not a high budget show, so they won't pay for me to do that."

Monk is now a bona-fide international phenomenon and nowhere is the show more popular than in Germany. The Monk Fun Page’s German partner site, The Monk Fansiete has kindly agreed to share their interview with Klaus-Peter Grap, the German voice actor who does the dubbing for Jason Gray-Stanford’s Lt. Disher.

Interview Exerpt: "Jason and I have the same jug ears, so there was a physical hint as well. And in addition to that, I just love being the comedian, I love being funny."

Melissa Strom has the small guest role of the recycling clerk in this season's holiday episode "Mr. Monk and the Miracle".

Interview Excerpt: "Coming in as a guest for a day in episodic television can be tricky because each set has a different vibe and every actor has a different preparation process before shooting. Two of the show’s stars welcomed me in the hair and makeup trailer in such a kind genuine way.... well, you can’t beat that kind of greeting in TV land. They set the day’s tone on set for me and that was very helpful."

Ernie Grunwald memorably played the hapless vampire manager in "Mr. Monk's 100th Case."

Interview Excerpt: "My best memory was seeing Tony's reaction to my work. He gave me some great pointers and was happy with the results, which made me very happy. He told me it was some of the funniest stuff they shot all season. That will always be a warm memory for me."

Casper Van Dien (Starship Troopers, Sleepy Hollow, Titans) guest starred in the season seven episode "Mr. Monk is Underwater" as Natalie's old friend Lt. Albright (a character I'm hoping will be recurring). Last summer I sent a few questions to Casper's agent and I got back a few really good answers.

Interview Excerpt: "Tony and Traylor are both extremely professional. They are prepared and make everything run smoothly. They not only work well together but make you feel comfortable and welcome. It is an awesome set with one of the best crews. Tony knows how to put the fun in funny."

Casper Van Dien

We've also got an interview with David A. Jansen, who plays the victim in the episode.

Interview Excerpt: "The third day was death day. We first shot the death scene which was a little difficult. I had to keep still in the same spot on the hard, cold floor with all the fake blood in my hair. It was pretty sticky when I had to get up. It was also the first time I played a dead person and it was harder then I expected. To hold my breath, keep my eyes open (while they were blowing smoke in my face) and have people touching me, while all staying still. It was challenging."

David Jansen

I was lucky enough to do a phone interview with the handsome and talented Lipstick Jungle star James Lesure, who guest starred in season seven's "Mr. Monk Takes a Punch" as fighter Ray Regis.

Interview Excerpt: "It was an amazing experience. Amazing experience. I’m so glad I was able to do it. I was very fortunate. I feel like I learned from both Tony [Shalhoub] and Robert [Loggia]. Just the company alone made it worth doing this project. It was pretty awesome. Pretty inspiring."

Malcom Barrett, who guest starred as Malcolm O'Dwyer in the season seven episode, "Mr. Monk Gets Lotto Fever", gave me a terrific phone interview last summer. Two other guest actors from the same episode, Heather Brooker and Amy Crofoot, both answered some email questions from MFP correspondent, Agnieszka. Heather Brooker Interview Excerpt: "My favorite role that I've played so far has to be this role on Monk. How can you top Tony Shalhoub? I don't think you can."	Heather Brooker
Amy Crofoot Interview Excerpt: "All of the actors were incredible! It was such a fun set. You can tell that the cast really likes each other and have been working together for a long time. Tony came into the make-up trailer first thing in the morning with doughnuts and greeted everyone with a smile."	Amy Crofoot
Malcolm Barrett Interview Excerpt: "Then there's of course a mystery that happens: there's a murder of one of the girls and I'm suspected of being one of the people who might have done it. So that's sort of where we meet my character. I had the idea of it being this professor who had lost his job because he had become so obsessed with the lotto that it took all of his time. I figure if you see his apartment, when you see the episode, it feels exactly like that, like this guy has given up his life for this and found meaning in the lottery."	Malcolm Barrett

John Bobek plays the musical cult member in season six's, "Mr. Monk Joins a Cult". I found John on myspace and he agreed to answer some questions.

Interview Excerpt: "Tony Shalhoub is one of my favorite actors, and Monk is a show that ingeniously rides the line between dramatic police procedural and dark comedy. I love it."

Both Eve Gordon and Bill Chott, who played two of the nefarious bank employees in the sixth season's "Mr. Monk Goes to the Bank" answered a few of my email questions in January of 2008.

Eve Gordon Interview Excerpt: "It was fun playing a grown-up in a suit. I am not exactly a grown-up in real life, so it was fun."

Bill Chott Interview: "I worked with Ted and Tony. As I said, Tony is a gem. We all sat down and ate lunch together one day and he is such a sweet and soft spoken genius. Ted is fun to just listen to. He has a lot of great stories from his whole career and his time as a Chicago actor...something I can relate to."

Brian Prescott guest stars in the sixth season finale "Mr. Monk is on the Run Part I" as the canine cop pursuing Monk. Our East European correspondent, Agnieszka, did an email interview with Brian in November of 2007.

Interview Excerpt: "I got to run through the misty woods with the canine search team. Working with the dogs was a real cool experience. Three big German Shepards, three completely different personalities, and strengths."

Sean Blodgett plays a CSI Tech in "Mr. Monk and the Man who Shot Santa," the sixth season holiday episode. Correspondent Agnieszka was responsible for pinning him down for a little email interview.

Interview Excerpt: "Due to confidentiality I cannot reveal episode details. However, when I read the script I laughed out loud. The writers are absolutely incredible and dynamic."

Frequent Monk guest star Tim Bagley (Harold Krenshaw) is in reality a real sweetheart. I had the pleasure of meeting him on the set of Mr. Monk and the Daredevil. Shortly before the episode aired Tim gave me an informative email interview.

Interview Excerpt: "I see Harold Krenshaw as a very sad little needy man who sees a lot of himself in Adrian Monk, and instead of being best of friends with him, he chooses to compete, and undermine, and loathe him."

Sean Marquette and Jareb Dauplaise (Troy Kroger's friends Ridley and Pez, respectively) both gave me phone interviews shortly before the episode, "Mr. Monk and the Buried Treasure" aired in August 2007. Both actors were personable, charming, intelligent and wise beyond their years. They were happy to talk about Monk. Kirk Diedrich didn't get a whole lot to do in "Buried Treasure" but he did it well. As the dead bank robber (make that the second dead bank robber, in a very good example of the "crime doesn't pay" axiom) Tony Gammalobo. Kirk is active only in black and white flash back scenes. MFP correspondent, Agnieszka got this email interview with Kirk.

Sean Marquette Interview Excerpt: "You know, I really appreciate when people laugh. I really like making people laugh. I don’t know. It’s a good feeling. It’s a feeling I don’t get doing anything else. So if I do something funny and everybody on set is getting a good chuckle out of it and everybody at home is getting a good chuckle out of it that makes me pretty happy."

Jareb Dauplaise Interview Excerpt: "Working on Monk was as professional as it gets. I would definitely say that. Tony Shalhoub is someone that you probably aspire to be as an actor. You hope that you can have half the success as Tony and to work with someone who really knows what it’s like to be on both sides of the fence."

Kirk Diedrich Interview Excerpt: "I worked with Ted Levine (Captain Stottlemeyer) and Jason Gray-Stanford (Lt. Disher.) And, by "worked" I mean pretended to be dead while they did a scene around me. They were both nice guys and were great to work with."

Sean Marquette

Jareb Dauplaise

Kirk Diedrich

July 2007

Sharon Lawrence has guest starred in three (soon to be four) episodes of Monk including "Mr. Monk and the Bad Girlfriend". She plays Linda Fusco, the femme fatale who sells real estate and breaks Stottlemeyer's heart. She answered a few email questions for me.

Interview Excerpt: "Linda is a take charge kind of gal. She knows what she wants and she goes after it. That's what makes her a successful realtor- her bold determination and sense of style. It's also why she gets to date such an attractive man..."

Sarah Silverman first guest starred in 2004's "Mr. Monk and the TV Star" as Marci Maven. Despite the fact that she herself is now a big TV star in he own aptly titled The Sarah Silverman Program, Sarah agreed to reprise her role in the sixth season episode "Mr. Monk and His Biggest Fan. (She's received an Emmy nomination for the role.) She also agreed to answer a few of my questions.

Interview Excerpt: "Well, Bitty was there the first time and Traylor was there this time. I had fun with them both - and Tony is so funny and sweet and lovely and silly."

July 2007

February 2007

Peter James Smith guest stars in "Mr. Monk and the Really, Really Dead Guy" and reveals a few insider details on season five and a half.

Interview Excerpt: "I definitely wanted to impress the new people I was working with. So there was a little more pressure there, but they were really supportive."

Enrico Colantoni guest starred on the season three episode "Mr. Monk and the Employee of the Month." Since Galaxy Quest (1999), with Tony Shalhoub, he's been a favorite actor of mine. I was delighted to hear from him a few months ago and even more delighted when he agreed to an in person interview. I already knew a lot about him, but he had a few surprises.

Interview Excerpt: "The coolest thing about Tony is that he’s an old world guy and I think we share that. We have that immigrant sort of mentality in a way."

May 2006

Rick Yudt has a guest spot on "Mr. Monk Goes to the Dentist" which aired on March 10th 2006. He is one of the security guards in the first scene.

Interview Excerpt: "I thought the script was amazing and the jokes written for Monk were so funny. I was really impressed at the overall creativity of the story and how it tied all the characters in the episode together."

Stellina Rusich played Monk's deceased wife Trudy in the pilot episode, season one and season two. She did a phone interview with me in March 2006. She's a lot like I imagine Trudy: very sweet, very smart, very funny. She's also quite a singer.

Interview Excerpt: [On Adrian Monk] "I think he’s put her on a bit of a pedestal. In a way I think he created an illusion of what she is. I think he created someone sort of beyond her. Because of his great love, he developed a fantasy."

December 2005

Dylan White, the hapless Detective Robbins, answered some questions right after Christmas and gave me a little inside scoop on the filming of "Mr. Monk and the Secret Santa"

Interview Excerpt: "Maybe Robbins aspires to be like Monk. Maybe Robbins has some not-so-neat habits that make Monk queasy. Maybe Robbins has a secret crush on Natalie and thinks Natalie pays more attention to Disher. Who knows?"

Mel Fair guest stars in "Mr. Monk Bumps His Head." He shares his insights on the Monk filming experience and pictures of his day on the set.

Interview Excerpt: "I don’t believe in luck, I believe in blessings," Mel declares. "This is a great show. I’ve worked on a lot of shows and very few were as genuine as they are."

October 2005