Benji and Joel from Good Charlotte sit down with Hobbits Dominic Monaghan (Merry) and Billy Boyd (Pippin) and talk about puberty, P. Diddy, tattoos, religion and ? oh yes, “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.”

Joel: I love “The Lord of the Rings,” all the lords and all the rings. In the first movie, you guys were comical kind of sidekicks. In ["The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"], I felt you had really important ? it was like there was another movie inside the movie. I’m sure there is a word for that in movie terms.

Boyd: Let’s call it a sub movie.

Joel: For the whole movie, my mind was in two different places. I was watching Frodo, then I was watching you guys with the trees. I was excited, because I liked you guys in ["The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"] ? I can’t believe I’m sitting here and you guys are Hobbits. In “The Two Towers,” it was so cool that you had such an important, big, other part of the movie, like a whole different movie. How’d you feel about that?

Boyd: It was really cool. The good thing about these movies [is that] we had three movies to do it in. Normally, you have one movie and it’s kind of crammed into a short time. We have time in these movies to give these characters an arc. In the first movies we are some funny Hobbits, then we’re made prisoners of war and we have to kind of become real people and grab hold of our own destinies.

In ["The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"], for Merry and Pippin it’s all about growing up. It’s about maturing and doing things for yourself, because we don’t have Gandalf and Aragorn and Gimli to help us out. It’s all about ?

Benji: Puberty, if you will?

Monaghan: P. Diddy, if you will?

Joel & Benji: Puberty.

Joel: Because you weren’t supposed to leave the Shire.

Monaghan: It’s a shame what they cut from the second movie, which is kind of like puberty. We go through growth spurts.

Joel: They cut it out?

Monaghan: Yeah. Like when you record your favorite track and “Ah sh–!” it’s gone ? that’s what they did with us.

Joel: You guys ruled in “The Two Towers.”

Monaghan: But who’s your favorite? I bet at the end of the day you’re a Frodo fan. Gandalf?

Joel: Honestly, I think Frodo was getting kind of evil on me in this movie.

Benji: I can honestly say my favorite character was Gollum.

Monaghan: Me too. How about that scene where he talks to his twin with the pictures?

Joel: What’s next?

Monaghan: I’m probably going to have a cup of coffee and then have lunch.

Boyd: Chicken? Lovely.

Benji: Do you miss each other when you don’t see each other?

Monaghan: We see each other all year ’round. … Billy was in Mexico, so I would go down one weekend and we’d go surfing then he’d come up to L.A. the weekend after that. Elijah [Wood] lives in L.A.

Boyd: And we hung out.

Benji: You guys are really friends?

Boyd: Yeah.

Benji: You guys like Snoop Dogg?

Monaghan: Yeah, I like Snoopy Dogg.

Joel: You guys live in L.A.?

Boyd: I don’t. I live in Scotland, so next to my bed I only have a light so I can read.

Monaghan: I live in Hollywood.

Boyd: Sometimes a sandwich if I’m hungry.

Benji: Has being a Hobbit helped your dating life or hurt it?

Monaghan: I never had a problem with my dating life.

Boyd: Women like you?

Monaghan: What is that about?

Boyd: I don’t know!

Monaghan: When does your album come out?

Joel: It’s out. Comes out in January.

Monaghan: No, I meant when does your album turn into a second album?

Joel: That is the second album.

Monaghan: Third album?

Joel: January.

Benji: Next January, a year.

Boyd: This guy here [points to photo of Good Charlotte guitarist Billy] looks like David Grohl.

Benji: Yeah, Dave Grohl. A little bit. Billy is actually the biggest “Lord of the Rings” fan I ever met.

Monaghan: This guy, Billy? Then how come he’s not interviewing?

Benji: He’s got the ring tattooed around his hand.

Boyd: He’s busy is he?

Benji: He’s taking a couple of days off.

Boyd: What’s your favorite tattoo?

Benji: My favorite tattoo? I like this one on my neck. It’s the Virgin Mary.

Boyd: A lot of religious paraphernalia with you. Is there a religious vibe on the album?

Joel: No, not on the album; definitely not.

Monaghan: Just in life.

Benji: I just figure that when I die, I’m going to need some extra help getting into heaven because of the sh–.

MTV.com

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