Moriarty , Matt Crowley of '' The A.V. Club '' and '' Variety '' s Paula Hendrickson used it as example of how '' Monk '' can fit comedy scenes during dramatic ones . Ann Zivotsky , a writer for the '' North County Times '' , commented , " Watching Tucci and Shalhoub play this for laughs would have been enough for some shows , but the '' Monk '' writers take the opportunity to let the movie actor share with Monk the insights he 's learned about the detective , which may help , or hurt , Monk . " Finley and David Kronke of '' Los Angeles Daily News '' also highlighted the line " Ruskin wanted to play a character that was n't so depressing and dark . He 's in England doing Hamlet . " Criticism to the episode was done by Finley who said , " So much of this show is dependent on Monk 's subtle mannerisms , but he exaggerates them to an absurd degree as he tries to impress the actor who 's playing him . " Similarly , Werts said " Shalhoub pushes a tad too far with the compulsions . " Robert Bianco of '' USA Today '' was also critical of its " excessive quirks and overall credibility-busting silliness . " Although praised Shalhoub – Tucci dynamic , Rich Heldenfels of '' Akron Beacon Journal '' criticized it as " the actor-imitating-life thing has been done before on TV and in the movies , and the gag well is pretty dry . " At the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards , Tucci won the award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role on this episode
59th Primetime Emmy Awards
59th Primetime Emmy Awards
Mr. Monk and the Actor