Watch out for "Monk," television's first obsessive compulsive detective. Although we've seen sleuths in wheelchairs, sleuths losing their sight and a shamus who was so overweight he was confined to his apartment, USA network (seen in 89 million homes in the USA) is offering a cop with a twist.

Adrian Monk, who used to be an active officer with the San Francisco police department, has so many hang ups he can barely function says Hollywood character actor Tony Shalhoub who is stepping into the shoes of this defective detective.

Shalhoub who has been acting for a living for over 30 years, seldom looks the same in any one role. He can currently be seen reprising his role as the seedy alien, pawnbroker in "Men in Black II" and last year he was the sleazy, high living lawyer who defends Billy Bob Thornton in "The Man Who Wasn't There" and the actor/engineer in the spoof "Galaxy Quest."

Shalhoub, of Lebanese American heritage grew up in Wisconsin and got his start in the theater in Boston and then New York. During his long career he's managed to dodge the fate of other ethnic actors and has studiously avoided being typecast.

Now living in Los Angeles with his wife actress Brooke Adams and two daughters, Josie 13, and Sophie l9, he is seldom out of work. He moves easily from big budget films like "Against the Ropes" with Meg Ryan, to cheapie low budget pictures like "Made Up", written by his sister in law Lynn Adams, directed by Shaloub himself, starring Shaloub, his wife and actor pal Gary Sinise.

Q: Did you jump at the idea of playing Monk?

A: I turned it down at first. It had been floating around for a while and was attached to another network. Then my manager suggested I give it a second look and when I did it started to make sense.

Q: This Monk is crazy. So what's his appeal?

A: My manager said in a sort of covert way that she thought there was a lot in Monk of what she saw in Tony.

Q: Are you serious?

A: Yes, Monk has every phobia known to man: An abnormal fear of germs, heights, crowds and virtually everything else which tends to handicap him when it comes to solving crimes and living a normal life.

Q: So what are your hang ups?

A: My manager says I tend to fixate or get stuck on things. And I can be very intense.

Q: Why is Monk the way he is?

A: He's a deeply troubled guy with two long range objectives. He wants desperately to solve his wife's murder - she died as a result of a car bomb. That's been driving him crazy. And at the same time he wants to prove to himself and his shrink that he can get his act together and deserves to get his job back with the police department.

Q: What's the positive side of him?

A: His attention to detail and almost Sherlock Holmesian perception which enables him to see the world differently to everyone else. He has a certain skewered view of the world and of other people. His disorder and shortcomings sometimes become an asset in his work. I hope other people will recognize aspects of themselves in Monk --that we all have these certain idiosyncrasies, needs and compulsions. It's all a matter of degree.

Q: As an American of Middle Eastern descent, how have you managed to avoid being stereotyped in roles?

A: It's not that I could always pick and choose the roles I wanted but I always tried to go against type and not repeat characters. If I got an ethnic role then I'd try and give it an unexpected twist and steer clear of perpetuating the myths. And that turned out satisfying for me.

Q: Your wife is in the same business as you. Is there ever a conflict?

Q: Not really. Brooke kind of put herself on the backburner when we had kids. Parts for women of a certain age in Hollywood become fewer and far between and she didn't want to start all over again so she took herself out of the action. Now as a creative outlet she paints although she's done Made Up" with me -- a small film and a family affair. Her sister Lynne Adams wrote it as a play and then adapted it for the screen.

Q: Do you ever yearn to play a leading man in movies?

A: It doesn't really concern me too much. I look for interesting characters and if they're leads then fine. I don't wake up in a cold sweat about it. I look at someone like Humphrey Bogart. He was a character actor but he could move from Casablanca" to Desperate Hours" or The African Queen" effortlessly and he was not your classically glamorous, handsome, movie star guy.

Q: What was your biggest break?

A: I agree with Walter Matthau, who said, All it takes in this business is 40 big breaks." It's more an accumulative affect.

Q: You get to go up against Meg Ryan in your next movie. What's that about?

A: Against the Ropes" is based on a true story about the first woman boxing promoter, Jackie Kallen a relentless and tireless woman. I play a rather unscrupulous guy, a tough customer cut in the John Gotti mold who doesn't want her in the fight game. He's attracted to her and keeps hitting on her but she drives him crazy.