Tony Shalhoub, left, and Stanley Tucci in “Big Night.”
Tony Shalhoub has already had his “Big Night.”
Now, he’s about to have his big afternoon, too.
The comedy drama, about quarreling brothers trying to run an upscale Italian restaurant in 1950s New Jersey, was a huge hit in 1996, giving Shalhoub his first big feature role and launching co-star Stanley Tucci (who also co-directed, alongside Campbell Scott). And now it’s back for some anniversary screenings.
The first will start as soon as this interview concludes, as part of the 18th annual Lighthouse International Film Festival held on Long Beach Island (much of the film was shot in Keyport). Later, there will be an in-person onstage chat between Shalhoub and longtime LIFF supporter Jason Alexander. (The programming concludes June 14.)
Add in the festival’s usual mix of indies, docs, horror films, and discoveries — including “Bolio: Spirit of the Mustang,” a comedy Shalhoub stars in and co-produced with his wife Brooke Adams — and it’s a busy five days on LBI. And particularly for guest-of-honor Shalhoub — who, nonetheless, took time out to chat about his past, and future.
Q: You’d been working very successfully on stage, and was already on TV in “Wings” when “Big Night” came along. But that was still a big thing at the time for you.
A: Yes, in terms of the size of the role and its impact on the story, it was definitely a game-changer. The first time I saw the script Stanley had done with his cousin, Joseph Tropiano, was at a table read with a bunch of actors to try and interest potential producers; at that time, they asked me to read the part Ian Holm ended up playing. That particular financing fell through. But cut to a couple of years later, when everything was finally in place and they were ready to make it, Stanley called me again to ask, “Do you want to play Primo?” And luckily “Wings” was on hiatus so I was free.
Q: One lovely thing about the film was the serious attention it gave Italian culture. There was a pervasive and sometimes crude stereotype of Italian-Americans at the time — still is — and Stanley Tucci pushed against that.
A: I shouldn’t speak for Stanley, but I believe that was the drive behind him to write this story. Many of us, when we were coming up as actors, had a real anger about the limited sort of roles we were being offered. I was trying to sidestep the Arab terrorist cliché; for Stanley, it was the mafioso. He saw the writing on the wall, and before he could be typecast he took matters into his own hands.
Tony Shalhoub in “Big Night.”
Q: It’s a painful thing, I’m sure, because every artist wants to do good work. But still, you have to eat.
A: It’s one of the other things that “Big Night” speaks to: At its heart, it’s about the struggle to balance art and commerce, seen through Primo, who is this uncompromising chef, and Secondo, who’s a businessman. As actors, that dilemma is something we all faced. You don’t want to sell out but you don’t want to starve, either. So how do you find that sweet spot where you can do work you can be proud of, at least most times?
Q: How did you prepare for this role?
A: Knowing I wasn’t too adept in the kitchen, Stanley found a chef out in L.A., where I was living, and we worked together on knife skills and things, so I at least looked like I knew what I doing. It wasn’t easy for me; these chefs, a lot of these guys start cooking when they’re 11, 12. Then, when I came out to New York, I worked with another chef, and then a coach who helped me with the Italian, which I did not speak at the time, and another coach who helped me with the actual accent.
Q: All those skills are really important to the role. But how about getting into the character emotionally?
A: Stanley was incredibly helpful with that. We would just rehearse and improvise together; you read a script and there are always a number of different choices you can make, but Stanley showed me his vision of the tone of the piece and the brothers’ relationship. He even took me to visit his parents — who are both phenomenal cooks — and I got to experience the real joy you can have together in the kitchen.
Q: That kind of intimacy — and I’m not going to give the ending away, to anyone who hasn’t yet seen the film — is so essential to that phenomenal last scene, with the two brothers in the kitchen.
A: Four-and-a-half minutes, without a word or a cut. You’re right, it catches you unawares, and then delivers this emotional gut punch. And suddenly you realize, this is where this story was headed all the time. You thought it was about whether or not this little restaurant was going to succeed, but it’s really always been about whether the brothers’ relationship is going to survive.
Tony Shalhoub in “Monk.”
Q: You work hard to create a character like Primo in a movie, but you’re only with him for a short time. What happens when you live with a character for years, as on “Monk”? Is it a relief to finally leave him behind, or a little sad?
A: It’s both. Look, like a lot of people, I want to do a variety of things, have new challenges. You don’t want to end up like a musician, just playing the same three hit songs over and over again. With “Monk,” I remember talking to the writer around season 6 and he said, “How many more do you think you’ve got in you?” and I said “I feel like it’s coming to an end.” And he said, “OK, I’ve got another two seasons mapped out,” and I said “That works for me.” And so we told the network and that’s what we did. Honestly, USA would have kept renewing us; it was a popular show and it wasn’t expensive to make. But it was time to wrap it up. You never want to stay too long at the fair.
Q: And what was it like when you didn’t have a character to play and had to just be yourself, as in your “Breaking Bread” series for CNN?
A: That was one of the hardest things. I asked people who do these sorts of shows, “How does this work?” and they’d say “Just be yourself.” But who is that guy? Which self? What mood? Luckily, I discovered early on that the people I came across, the bakers and restaurateurs I interviewed, they were so interesting it was easy to just toss the ball and let them run with it.
Q: Later today, Jason Alexander is going to interview you about your entire career and I’m not sure how he’s going to fit all of it into a single conversation — you’ve done everything from Beckett to “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” action films to documentaries. How do you keep adding to that?
A: Well, I’m always looking for something I haven’t done before. One new project I have is a book I wrote with my daughter, a sort of memoir about my huge family — I’m one of 10 — and these enormous, week-long reunions we have every year. It’s coming out in October and it’s called “We Thought They’d Never Leave.”
Q: And what’s your go-to specialty at these things?
A: I have a few that I kind of lean on. One of my signature dishes is a kind of fish stew I make with cod and coconut milk. It’s a little spicy, but not too much. I call it “Tony’s Fish Stew.” It’s in the book.
For more information on the Lighthouse International Film Festival, visit ]lighthouseff.com.
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