TONY SHALHOUB:
LOOKING BACK ON BIG NIGHT AT 30
How an Indie Film Shot On the Jersey Shore Became the Actor's "Game-Changer.".
Written by Angela Matusik, Editor in Chief, Socko!
LOOKING BACK ON BIG NIGHT AT 30
How an Indie Film Shot On the Jersey Shore Became the Actor's "Game-Changer.".
Written by Angela Matusik, Editor in Chief, Socko!
Long before detective Monk doused his hands in sanitizer on the scene of a murder case, two decades before Abe Weissman worried about his daughter’s standup career in The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, and before there was a collection of Emmys, Golden Globes, SAG “Actors” and a Tony on the shelves of his home, Tony Shalhoub played a meticulous, passionate Calabrian chef in a small seaside town in New Jersey in a film that changed the industry, and his career.
That film was Big Night, and to celebrate its 30th Anniversary, Shalhoub is making a trek to another New Jersey seaside town, Long Beach Island, to be the special guest at The Lighthouse International Film Festival. “This will be my first anniversary event for the film, and my first time in Long Beach Island. I’m really looking forward to it,” says the 72-year old actor.
Big Night is an exceptional film in many ways. Written by Stanley Tucci and his cousin, Joseph Tropiano, directed by Tucci and his high school drama club friend, actor Campbell Scott, it stars Shalhoub and Tucci as two Italian emigrant brothers – Primo and Secondo – struggling to keep their restaurant, aptly named Paradise, afloat. Everything about it is infused with as much love and passion as a well placed drop of EVOO – starting with a supporting cast which is a veritable parade of icons – Minnie Driver, Allison Janney, Marc Anthony (in one of his first film roles), Liev Streiber (fresh out of the Yale School of Drama), Isabella Rossellini (who radiates in every frame) and maestro Ian Holm as the brothers'restaurateur nemesis Pascal. “Getting Ian Holm was a major coup,” recalls Shalhoub. “He was a massive hero to all of us.”
That film was Big Night, and to celebrate its 30th Anniversary, Shalhoub is making a trek to another New Jersey seaside town, Long Beach Island, to be the special guest at The Lighthouse International Film Festival. “This will be my first anniversary event for the film, and my first time in Long Beach Island. I’m really looking forward to it,” says the 72-year old actor.
Big Night is an exceptional film in many ways. Written by Stanley Tucci and his cousin, Joseph Tropiano, directed by Tucci and his high school drama club friend, actor Campbell Scott, it stars Shalhoub and Tucci as two Italian emigrant brothers – Primo and Secondo – struggling to keep their restaurant, aptly named Paradise, afloat. Everything about it is infused with as much love and passion as a well placed drop of EVOO – starting with a supporting cast which is a veritable parade of icons – Minnie Driver, Allison Janney, Marc Anthony (in one of his first film roles), Liev Streiber (fresh out of the Yale School of Drama), Isabella Rossellini (who radiates in every frame) and maestro Ian Holm as the brothers'restaurateur nemesis Pascal. “Getting Ian Holm was a major coup,” recalls Shalhoub. “He was a massive hero to all of us.”
Shalhoub, who had been living in the TriState area before the production but wasn’t very familiar with the Garden State at the time. The exteriors were filmed in Keyport, “a little town locked in time” and the dramatic finale beach scene happened in Keansport.
At a time when many indie films struggle to find distribution, and audiences often discover them at their own pace rather than during a cinematic release, it’s difficult to explain the influence Big Night had when it was released. After it came out, people became obsessed with the food in the film, especially its centerpiece dish the Timpano, a drum shaped pasta filled with, as Primo (Shalhoub) says “the best things in the world.” In professional food circles, it is credited with shifting American culinary tastes from classic spaghetti and meatballs to more regional authentic Italian cuisines. For Tucci, it transformed him into a leading man, and a beloved food authority. The effect on Shalhoub’s career was similar.
At a time when many indie films struggle to find distribution, and audiences often discover them at their own pace rather than during a cinematic release, it’s difficult to explain the influence Big Night had when it was released. After it came out, people became obsessed with the food in the film, especially its centerpiece dish the Timpano, a drum shaped pasta filled with, as Primo (Shalhoub) says “the best things in the world.” In professional food circles, it is credited with shifting American culinary tastes from classic spaghetti and meatballs to more regional authentic Italian cuisines. For Tucci, it transformed him into a leading man, and a beloved food authority. The effect on Shalhoub’s career was similar.
“It was a bit of a game changer. It was certainly the biggest role I had in a movie to date,” says Shalhoub of the accolades Big Night received. “For a number of years afterwards, I no longer had to audition for films. That's a situation that goes up and down... But certainly there was a long stretch of time when the phone would ring and there would be an offer. That was very different.”
As much as Big Night is about food, it’s also about the push and pull between art and commerce, which as any creative knows, is non stop. Whether you’re a director or a makeup artist or a gaffer, the common goal is to make a living doing work you’re proud of alongside people you admire. If you’re lucky enough to strike gold, this will happen more often than not. “We needed to make a living but we didn’t want to sell out,” he says of the mid 1990s. “We were young and idealistic. We wanted to pursue our art and our craft, but we also didn’t want to starve.”
As much as Big Night is about food, it’s also about the push and pull between art and commerce, which as any creative knows, is non stop. Whether you’re a director or a makeup artist or a gaffer, the common goal is to make a living doing work you’re proud of alongside people you admire. If you’re lucky enough to strike gold, this will happen more often than not. “We needed to make a living but we didn’t want to sell out,” he says of the mid 1990s. “We were young and idealistic. We wanted to pursue our art and our craft, but we also didn’t want to starve.”
And for 2026 audiences, there’s another key element of the story which seems more than relevant than ever. “Big Night is an immigrant story as much as anything else,” says Shalhoub, who is Lebanese and raised in Wisconsin. “As a young Italian-American actor was getting, Stanley felt he was getting pigeonholed, getting typecast as tough guys and the mafia. He was pushing back against that.”
Darkly handsome and frequently donning a hefty moustache that’s the envy of many hipster dads, Shalhoub could relate to this in many ways. “My father was born in Lebanon. My mother was born here, but my mother's parents were born in Lebanon, so being part of an immigrant family was important in my upbringing. And still is. There's an affinity that you notice between Italian and Lebanese culture.”
Darkly handsome and frequently donning a hefty moustache that’s the envy of many hipster dads, Shalhoub could relate to this in many ways. “My father was born in Lebanon. My mother was born here, but my mother's parents were born in Lebanon, so being part of an immigrant family was important in my upbringing. And still is. There's an affinity that you notice between Italian and Lebanese culture.”
Like his friend and collaborator Tucci, food has always been an essential part of Shalhoub’s life, and it’s one that he has parlayed into a second career. He and his wife of 34 years, actress Brooke Adams, are partial owners of two renowned Italian restaurants in Manhattan, Resorda and Masara. His next project is a memoir-slash-cookbook created with his daughter Josie Adams, We Thought They’d Never Leave. “I guess you could call it a narrative cookbook,” explains the serious amateur chef. “I'm the second youngest of 10, so there are a lot of stories about growing up and many are about food. Now it has about 20 recipes – we started out with 100, but the stories took them over.”
Josie lives in New Jersey, so Shalhoub finds himself making the easy journey from New York to see her and the grandkids frequently. But work also pulls him back to the Garden State. In fact, the first episode of his acclaimed CNN travel-food show, Breaking Bread, began in the city but quickly had him crossing the Hudson. In it, he visits Jersey City’s Razza, a New York Times three-star pizzeria from chef Dan Richer, who was also behind Maplewood’s famous Auturo’s (now Arties). Shalhoub still dreams about the clam calzone.
Josie lives in New Jersey, so Shalhoub finds himself making the easy journey from New York to see her and the grandkids frequently. But work also pulls him back to the Garden State. In fact, the first episode of his acclaimed CNN travel-food show, Breaking Bread, began in the city but quickly had him crossing the Hudson. In it, he visits Jersey City’s Razza, a New York Times three-star pizzeria from chef Dan Richer, who was also behind Maplewood’s famous Auturo’s (now Arties). Shalhoub still dreams about the clam calzone.
Best of all, Shalhoub has felt the effects of New Jersey’s production boom first-hand. Just last summer, he was part of the cast of American Classic, the MGM+ series filmed primarily in Maplewood. The show is about a famed theater actor who returns to his hometown after being “cancelled,” and throws himself into reviving his beloved childhood theater. Shahloub plays Alvy Stritch, an old-timey Broadway agent for Kevin Klein’s Richard Bean. “Everything was filmed in New Jersey, even my New York office,” he says of the production (led by the great Jane Musky).
For now Shalhoub is content thinking about the ocean breezes and the warm reception that will undoubtedly be greeting him at LIFF. But he plans to return to the state again soon, for either for family or work. “It’s the fifth borough, really,” he jokes.
For now Shalhoub is content thinking about the ocean breezes and the warm reception that will undoubtedly be greeting him at LIFF. But he plans to return to the state again soon, for either for family or work. “It’s the fifth borough, really,” he jokes.
Follow @lhff for updates on Shalhoub in LBI, and watch American Classic on MGM+
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This story appeared in the inaugural issue of Socko! Magazine [May, 2026]. Click here to subscribe
