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.

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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.

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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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All the world knows Dominic Monaghan as Merry Brandybuck, one of those brave li’l hobbits from the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Now he has another major hit on his hands with ABC’s Lost , the suspense drama about plane-crash survivors stranded on a desert isle where something even scarier than Jerri Manthey is roaming the forest. The 28-year-old Brit plays Charlie, the junkie rock star, whose tragic backstory is revealed tonight at 8 pm/ET. Yes, Charlie finally gets his very own flashback episode! Just before jetting off to Lost ‘s Hawaiian set, Monaghan sat down with TV Guide Online in Hollywood, where he lives during his downtime, to give us a juicy preview.

LOTR took you three years in New Zealand. Now you’re sequestered in Hawaii for Lost . When do you see your family? Or are ya on the run, like Kate? Dominic Monaghan: Yeah, kind of! But my parents are pretty much like me. They move around quite a lot. Right now, they’re living in Madrid. They’re not gypsies, but they’re traveling folk who like to move about. As kids, we moved every few years to different places in Europe. I think that’s what’s made me the type of guy who enjoys picking up his life and moving somewhere else. It’s no hardship for me living in new countries and getting used to different cultures. It keeps me alive and happy.
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LORD OF THE RINGS star DOMINIC MONAGHAN owes VIGGO MORTENSEN a huge debt of gratitude after the movie hunk saved him from a hefty fine and a reprimand on the set of the epic trilogy after he took him surfing.

The stars of the films were strictly forbidden from surfing in New Zealand, where they shot the films, because active sports injuries were not covered by insurers.

But Monaghan, a proficient surfer, couldn’t resist taking pals Mortensen and BILLY BOYD out for a session – and almost paid dearly for his dangerous hobby.

He says, “We were filming THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, and, if you notice, you can only see Viggo from the side profile for a few sequences because we went surfing.

“He fell off his board, his board went up in the air… and smacked him right in the eye.

“As he surfed over to Billy and I to say, ‘How do I look?’ we saw his eye just close.

“Viggo, being the cool guy that he is, said that he fell down the stairs or trod on a frog or something like that and we got away with it.”

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LORD OF THE RINGS star DOMINIC MONAGHAN was a teenage entrepreneur in his native Manchester, England, when he realised he could sell sweets and comics for a huge profit.

The actor admits he was a wheeler-dealer back in school – and made a small fortune doing it.

He recalls, “I didn’t get a lot of pocket money when I was a kid so I struck upon the idea of selling the candy that I brought to school for 100 per cent profit and then buying more and then coming back the next day with more.

“I made some cash and I had to write the orders on my hands because then it became like comic books, certain items of clothing. It became more of a big deal.”

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Dominic Monaghan conquered the big-screen in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and is now grabbing the brass ring on the small screen with ABC’s new drama, “Lost.”

Monaghan plays Charlie, the one-hit rocker on the show about a group of airline crash survivors stranded on an island – which has become one of the few breakout hits of the season. He says he’s enjoying the challenge of playing a character coping with withdrawal from a heroin addiction, but is more intrigued by Charlie’s struggle with issues of faith.

“I was brought up in England in a relatively Roman Catholic faith,” says the 28-year-old Monaghan, who was born in Berlin and later moved to Manchester with his father, a teacher, his mother, a nurse, and his older brother.
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