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Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan (born December 8, 1976) is an English actor. He has received international attention from the success of Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings playing Merry Brandybuck and his role as Charlie Pace on the television show Lost.

Biography

Early life

Monaghan was born and raised in Berlin, Germany to British parents. His family moved to Stockport, England when he was 12. Monaghan's first language is English and German is his second language, he is known for his ability to impersonate others and replicate accents. Dominic attended St Anne's RC High School (where his uncle taught and later became Headteacher) and Aquinas College where he studied English Literature, Drama and Geography. While in college he got his first major role in the BBC television series, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, in which he played Hetty's sidekick.

Personal life

On November 8 2005 tabloid photos of Monaghan and co-star Evangeline Lilly were published in a variety of magazines and websites, featuring the two kissing intimately.[1] As of August 9 2006, the two still had not confirmed the nature of their relationship, with Lilly stating, "It is still rumoured [that we're dating]... Dom is a spectacular person and I'd rather leave it at that."[2]

Monaghan is an adamant environmentalist, and has been active in the planting and preservation of trees and forests. He owns a small forest in India.

He has on his right arm a tattoo of the Elvish word for "nine", a reference to his involvement in the Lord of the Rings and the fact that his character was one of the nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring. Several other cast members also got similar tattoos during the film's production. On his left arm is a tattoo saying "Living is easy with eyes closed", a line from The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever." On Lost, Charlie's perplexing tape/bandage finger rings with individual letters spelling out words were Monaghan's idea; he reasoned that, as an artist, Charlie would still want to express himself even when stranded on a tropical isle. Monaghan does actually play the guitar on the show, and on an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live he and Kimmel jokingly composed a theme song for Lost, a high-pitched, dirge-like number with the words, "We're lost on the island and we're far from home; we're lost on the island, but we're not alone..."

Monaghan also narrated Ringers: Lord of the Fans, a documentary about Lord of the Rings fandom.

Trivia

• On the set of Lost he is close friends with Jorge Garcia (Hugo "Hurley" Reyes).
• He appeared in a PETA ad concerning treatment of wild animals [3]
• His father, Austin Monaghan, is a careers advisor at Royton and Crompton secondary school, in Manchester, North West UK.

Filmography

• Lost (2004 - Present) (TV series) (Charlie Pace)
• Shooting Livien (2005) (Owen)
• The Purifiers (2004) (Sol)
• Spivs (2004) (Goat)
• An Insomniac's Nightmare (2003) (Jack)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) (Meriadoc Brandybuck)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) (Meriadoc Brandybuck)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) (Meriadoc Brandybuck) (Cameo voice of Gollum)
• Monsignor Renard (2000) (TV series) (Etienne Pierre Rollinger)
• This is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper (2000) (Jimmy Furey)
• Hostile Waters (1997) (TV) (Sasha)
• Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1996) (TV series) (Geoffrey Shawcross)

Footnotes

External links

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