An attractive performer, Dominic Monaghan broke out of being typecast in teen roles when he landed the role of Hobbit Meriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck in Peter Jackson's tripartite feature adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkein classic "The Lord of the Rings" (2001-03). Born in Germany to a nurse and a teacher, the diminutive brown-haired, blue-eyed actor spent his formative years in Berlin. When he was 12 years old, he relocated to Manchester, England with his family and following his completion of secondary school, began acting in local youth theater. Shortly thereafter, Monaghan was tapped to play Geoffrey Shawcross, the teenage sidekick to a sixtysomething housewife-turned-detective in the BBC series "Hetty Wainthropp Investigates" (1996-98). He went on to play a Russian sailor in the fact-based HBO drama "Hostile Waters" (1997) and a young Frenchman in the four-part British miniseries "Monsignor Renaud" (1999).Monaghan had been spotted in a play in London and was asked to audition for a role in "The Lord of the Rings". While it took the producers several months to decide, he landed the plum role of the Hobbit named Merry. Shot over two years in 1999 and 2000, the film adaptation was a large gamble for New Line. The studio released the project in three parts over three years, "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001), "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (2002) and "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003).
Rather than find himself typecast in subsequent fantasy or period fare, Monaghan headed to Hollywood in search of different roles and was subsequently cast as Charlie, the wanting-to-be-recognized rock drummer among the 48 marooned airline crash survivors on J.J. Abrams' clever adventure drama "Lost" (ABC, 2004-).
Profession(s):
Actor
Sometimes Credited As:
Family
father:Austin Monaghan
mother:Aureen Monaghan
Companion(s)
Evangeline Lilly
, Companion
, ```..met while filming the ABC series "Lost"
Screen Actors Guild Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series "Lost" 2006
2004 Cast as rock star and drug addict, Charlie on the drama series "Lost" (ABC)
2003 Again portrayed Merry in "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
2002 Reprised Merry in "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"
2001 Feature film debut as hobbit Meriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck in "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"
2000 Acted in the Granada Television movie "This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper", based on a true story
1999 Played the 15-year-old narrator of the BBC Radio 4 comedy series "Stockton"
1999 Co-starred in the four-part British TV drama "Monsignor Renard", about a French priest who returns to his birthplace just before the Nazi occupation
1997 Appeared as a Russian sailor in the HBO drama "Hostile Waters"
1996 - 1998 Co-starred as teenager Geoffrey Shawcross on episodes of the popular BBC mystery series "Hetty Wainthropp Investigates", starring Patricia Routledge
1995 After finishing school, began working in youth theaters in Manchester
1989 Family relocated to England; settled in Manchester
Born in Germany; lived there with family until he was 12 years old
