Archive for 2004

When Dominic Monaghan was a kid, he lived and breathed Star Wars. “I would watch Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back over and over again,” says the actor who’s most widely known as Merry, one of the heroic Hobbits in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. “I knew the first 45 minutes to an hour of Star Wars word for word. I just obsessed over the film.”

This childhood obsession, in fact, is what sparked Monaghan’s desire to become an actor. “I realized it was what I wanted to do, to have that fantastic gift of being able to take normal people away from the world we all live in and transport them somewhere else. Whether it’s space (as in Star Wars) or Middle Earth (the setting of Lord of the Rings) or an island in the middle of nowhere (the setting of his current hit TV series, Lost), that’s the thing that turns me on about my job.”
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Dominic Monaghan currently plays Charlie, the burned-out rocker stranded on an isle of the damned on ABC’s Lost . But as the Dec. 14 release of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Special Extended DVD Version approaches, we’re bringing him back to his life and times as Frodo’s fellow hobbit, Merry Brandybuck. Specifically, TV Guide Online wants the scoop on those gay rumors ? both on-screen and off. Was there ever anything behind Frodo and Sam’s legendary longing looks? And just how close were boon companions Merry and Pippin? Or were those hairy-footed hobbits ? and their cute portrayers ? just friends? Here, Monaghan dishes the dirt.

You’ve got a big female fan base. Are you still unattached? Dominic Monaghan: I am. I’m working so much. I still enjoy female company, but in terms of anything really serious, that’s not really where my head’s at.
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The Lord of the Rings movies and ABC’s Lost are divergent tales, but they have more in common than meets the eye. Both are runaway hits. Each features filming on a verdant Pacific island that allows for adventurous off-day activities.

“I love having the opportunity to surf,” says Dominic Monaghan, speaking from Hawaii, where he is part of the Lost ensemble.

Both also share Monaghan, who came to renown as the hobbit Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck in the Tolkien trilogy, and his exceptionally devoted fan base.
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Getting stranded on an inhospitable island with a bunch of nefarious characters and a blood-thirsty beast that lurks in the bushes has turned out to be a good thing for Dominic Monaghan.

The British actor acquired cult fame status by playing the hairy-footed Hobbit Merry Brandybuck in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. And now his smoldering portrayal as tortured rocker Charlie on ABC’s “Lost” (tonight at 8) has positioned him as one of the hit show’s breakout stars.

“It’s great to be in a show that people actually watch,” Monaghan told the Daily News recently.
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“Lost” star Dominic Monaghan reports that he and his “Lord of the Rings’” homies, er hobbits, are creating their own off-screen fellowship.

“Elijah Wood and I are working on starting up a T-shirt company,” says Monaghan. “We’re just big fans of clothes so we want to do certain designs of clothes we wish were out there, with text we’d like to see on T-shirts. We’re in the midst of putting together designs now.” Monaghan says he’s also collaborating with Billy Boyd, who played Pippin in the “LOTR” sagas. “Billy and I are in the midst of writing and doctoring a couple of scripts.”

The actor, who’s been in Hawaii shooting “Lost,” says the “LOTR” fellowship, which includes Viggo Mortenson and Orlando Bloom, does more than just stay in touch. “I still see the guys all the time.” In fact, he’s expecting visits from the “LOTR” gang through the holidays. “Viggo and Orlando are coming over for Thanksgiving. Then Billy and Elijah are coming over for New Year’s Eve.” They’ll need all of Gandalf’s magical powers to keep the “LOTR” groupies away, that’s for sure.

AIM Celebrity

Dominic Monaghan, who played “Merry Brandybuck” in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, has shaved his hairy feet. Now he’s a one-hit-wonder musician turned drug addict — “Charlie” — in “Lost.

Monaghan admits he’s struggled since the Tolkien trilogy hit the big screen with people internationally associating him with “a very cute, adorable, sweet-hearted, nonthreatening kind of boy.” Then “Lost” came along and Monaghan jumped at the chance to show he had way more in him than that. He doesn’t mind that audiences loved his Hobbit character — he just knows he has to move on to a very different personality, or he’ll end up being typecast.

Seeing “Lost” as a new break in television and hearing that the show was a bit of a risk, Monaghan saw it as a calculated risk well worth the taking and isn’t surprized at its popularity. However, fame doesn’t come naturally to some of the cast, who, being their first job, are quite nervous about their own new popularity. With feelings ranging from fear to excitement, Monaghan reveals that the 14-member cast are becoming very close and supportive, giving each other advice and keeping everyone’s feet on the ground.

Monaghan grew up in Manchester, England, where he felt the draw to acting early when he saw Star Wars, specifically idolizing the character “Hans Solo”. As a child, he has also been the proud owner of snakes, lizards, bugs and beetles, and currently has a black widow spider. As an environmentalist, he’s hoping to use his fame to promote those causes.

CTV

No more Mr. Nice Hobbit.

Dominic Monaghan, the beloved Merry Brandybuck in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, stars as Charlie, a one-hit-wonder musician turned drug addict, in “Lost” (tonight at 8 on WCVB, Ch. 5). What the Frodo is going on here?

“I struggled for the past three or four years or so with most of the people internationally knowing me as a very cute, adorable, sweet-hearted, nonthreatening kind of boy,” Monaghan said in a recent telephone interview.
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