Tony Shalhoub Quotations

I come from a really big family, my father was a businessman and what he always instilled in us was to be your own boss. My father built up his business, and he was by no means a rich man, but he figured out how to work four-and-a-half days a week.

I was one of those people who put too much emphasis on work and career and material possessions, and it took its toll on all my relationships, on my physical health, my emotional and mental health.

I'm impossible to direct. I couldn't get myself to do anything.

All I wanted with that film was to represent the possibility that there might be normal people who are Muslim or Arab with the same fears, responsibilities, hopes.

I don't look as handsome in Men in Black 2 as I did in the first one.

You're not really necessarily the coolest guy in their life. You are a conduit to the really cool people.

And Big Night, I think by the end the brothers find that balance, when they touch each other on the shoulder over breakfast and it's understood that what should never have driven them apart almost drove them apart. I think that's a true moment.

I still think of myself as a stage actor. When I do film and television I try to implement what I was taught to do in theatre, to try to stretch into characters that are far from myself.

With what's happened in the world the last three years, it's easier to see why it's become popular again to diminish and revile Arabs and Muslims in American popular culture.

It was really an experience, being my first time directing a movie. The scenes that I was in, Brooke really directed me all the time. And the scenes that both of us were in, Brooke directed those. Come to think of it, Brooke directed most of the scenes.

To my fellow nominees, whoever they are--I'm not that familiar with their work--I just want to say, there's always next year--except, you know, for Ray Romano ,

To my fellow nominees, whoever they are - I'm not that familiar with their work - I just want to say, there's always next year - except, you know, for Ray Romano .

She's like Judy Holliday with a real edge.

Monk is such an irritating and annoying character, I think everyone relates to that at some point.

I ended up in some pretty bizarre places. One night, it was Salinas, Kansas. . . . I sort of wandered into this little hotel and they let me sleep in the lobby.

Here is a man who is trying to do the right thing -- who finds himself in a situation where he is actually part of a system that's not doing the right thing.

We're thrilled with the way people have embraced the show and kind of relate to the character, not just the character of Monk but all the characters. It's a good job,

I've sort of been able to expand the playing field a little bit, I think it's long overdue. But I still feel like I have a lot of dragons to slay as an actor and I want to keep doing that,

You sometimes lost sight of the fact that you were actually doing a movie. It started to become more about the relationships, the real relationships,

I like that when the writers break their own rules.

I just want to say there's always next year, except for Ray Romano.

I have never seen a role like this of an Arab-American that's seen in such a positive light -- a really well-rounded character with a sense of humor, a professional life, a family life. Not a goodie-goodie -- a person who has his flaws and his shortcomings -- but a real character, not a stereotype.

I like to do things that are different from the last thing that I tried. That's the whole purpose of it. That was the reason I got into acting in the first place, to try diverse roles,

But I just really like the feeling of it.

The first time, there's like a rush of wind and you can't really say anything. You're speaking, but you don't know how the words are coming out.

Every project that I had an opportunity to do or chose to do, I wanted it to be different from the last thing I did, and I think that's why I have a good, I had kind of a diverse kind of résumé.

I am living proof that uncertainty is vastly underrated and often times a blessing in disguise.

To my fellow nominees, whoever they are - I'm not that familiar with their work - I just want to say, there's always next year - except, you know, for Ray Romano .

I've been so fortunate throughout my career, when I was doing theater, more theater than anything else, and when I was doing films that I got a chance just to do a broad range of things.

This business can be very frustrating but there is success story after success story of people who take the bull by the horns. Actors who are frustrated ... [should] do your own project. Find a writer, shoot a movie. It can be done,

My only preference is to have a lot of variety and diversity in the material that I work on.

I shot Barton Fink in July and moved out to LA that fall. The movie came out in the spring and it was a year before I got Wings.

I would want people to take away this idea that sometimes people's problems or neuroses are really the things that are kind of a blessing in disguise, and even though there's sometimes pain associated with these things that sometimes in the face of adversity with obstacles to overcome, people can really kind of soar and find their higher selves.

Theres always next year, ... except, you know, for Ray Romano.