Frodo’s Friend

Dominic Monaghan is instantly recognizable from his role as a Hobbit in The Lord of the Rings, but there’s more to this actor than meets the eye.

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Actor Dominic Monaghan in his most notable role to data, as the Hobbit Merry Brandybuck. Monaghan starred in all three episodes of New Line Cinema’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.[/caption]

these days, it’s to find dominic not easy monaghan

with time on his hands. But this morning, he is taking a breather in Los Angeles, having just returned from a whirl-wind press tour to help promote one of his latest projects, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. In it, he reprises his role of Meriadoc “Merry” Brandy-buck, who, along with his fellow Hobbits, is on a life-and-death mission to thwart the forces of evil. Monaghan made his debut as Merry in the first Lord of the Rings feature film, The Fellowship of the Ring. He went on to appear again in the second of the trilogy, The Two Towers. It’s no secret that the role of Merry has garnered the affable young man world-wide fame.
No stranger to performing onstage, Monaghan has appeared in a variety of U.K. productions. John Hubbard, U.K. casting director for The Lord of the Rings, spotted the actor playing a skinhead on the London stage and invited him to read for the part of Merry. “It was a very relaxed process and I thought it went rather well,” Monaghan remembers. “Shortly after that I booked a job in France working on Monsignor Renard, I’d been shooting on that project for three or four months when my agent called. He told me they were interested in me for the part of Merry in Lord of the Rings and that I might have to go to Los Angeles or New Zealand in a couple of days to meet with [director] Peter Jackson.
“Naturally I was excited and even more so when, a day later, I found out I didn’t have to fly anywhere and that I had just been offered the part. I had four or five days of filming left on Monsignor Renard and then a week back in England before having to go to New Zealand. I rang my parents to tell them the news and then went out that night to celebrate with my mates. It was one of those few moments when you’re acutely aware of your life turning on a right angle. In years to come I’m sure I’ll look back on it and think, ‘Wow, that was an amazing time for me.’”
In The Fellowship of the Ring, a Hob bit named Frodo (Elijah Wood) gains possession of an ancient ring. It is the One Ring of the Dark Lord Sauron, and Frodo has to risk his life in a dangerous journey to the Crack of Doom where he must destroy the ring. He is joined by a cast of colourful characters including three of his fellow Hobbits: Merry, Pippin (Billy Boyd), and Sam (Sean Astin). Their quest continues in The Two Towers and Return of the King.
“When I first played Merry I saw him as an innocent and loveable 11- or 12-year-old boy who wanted to be funny and always looked on the bright side of things,” muses Monaghan. “In Two Towers there is increased jeopardy, and he has no choice but to take the bull by the horns and do some-thing with his life. When we next meet up with him in Return of the King, Merry goes into battle, which is a first for a Hobbit. As a character he grew and developed in a multitude of ways, and 1t was a great pleasure to be a part of that.”

MONAGHAN DECIDED TO LEAVE MERRY BEHIND when accepting his latest film roles. In Spivs, he plays Goat, a greasy-haired stoner who becomes involved in a botched heist, while The Purifiers is a story about inner-city gangland violence. Like a chameleon, he changes to suit the piece. “Ever since I was a kid I’ve had the ability to alter the way I look and sound. It’s all part of that acting process and is what continues to make this job fun for me.”
Monaghan considered several careers while growing up—actor, singer, teacher. “My dad has been a huge influence in my life, and he’s also a teacher, so as a child I always contemplated the idea of becoming a teacher, perhaps a drama teacher,” he says. “I’m a big music fan as well, and for a long time I was interested in pursuing a singing career. However, g since the age of 10 or 11 my true passion has been acting. My j favourite part of the school year was being involved in the annual play. I played sports and enjoyed other aspects of school, but the thing I really excelled at was drama class. I’ve always enjoyed the artistic tug-of-war that goes on where you grab hold of a character, own him for a while, and then let go and grab hold of the next role.”

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Merry faces battle against the forces of evil in The Return of the King. Monaghan say he enjoyed the challenge of playing the role of a simple and care-free Hobbit who is caught up in bigger-than-life events and needs to grow beyond his limited physical stature.[/caption]

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Monaghan and co-star Billy Boyd who plays Peregrine Took. The two inseparable Hobbits are captured by a pitiless enemy in the second film of The Lord of the Rings story, The Two Towers.[/caption]

BEFORE THE LORD OF THE RINGS, MONAGHAN was already well known to millions of TV viewers around the globe as budding private eye Geoffrey Shawcross in the popular BBC detective series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates.
“I was at college in Manchester studying English literature, geography, and drama,” recalls Monaghan. “I was also involved with the local youth theatres and had been in a few plays. One of my friends’ fathers worked for a production company called Granada, and he gave me a list of names and addresses of all the TV/theatrical agents in town. I sent letters off to them basically explaining who I was and that I had done some theatre work. A couple of agents came to see me perform onstage and offered to represent me. I eventually signed with one agency but didn’t think much about it at the time because I was still focusing on my studies.
“One day, my agent phoned to say he had organized an audition for me for a TV show. Pretty much every young actor I knew at the time in Manchester was trying out for the part of Geoffrey and I thought, ‘No way am I going to get this job, so I’ll just give it my best shot and have fun.’ When I went in to read I met a woman who has become a really good friend of mine, Carol Parks [Hetty Wainthropp Investigates producer]. We spoke for half an hour and I think she found it refreshing that I wasn’t a professional actor. I had five more auditions, including those that required me to go down to London and meet with the writers as well as the director at the time. After that they offered me the part. I had to leave college for six months and film the first series, and then went back to school for another six months before leaving again to do the second season, etc. It just so happened that the thing I was trying to achieve through education actually landed in front of me. I was very lucky.”
Based on characters from the David Cook novel Missing Persons, the television series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates follows the exploits of a Lancashire housewife-turned-sleuth (Patricia Routledge of Keeping Up Appearances fame) and her young business partner Geoffrey Shawcross (Monaghan). In the series’premiere, “The Bearded Lady,” Hetty suspects a young couple of fraud and decides to investigate. She enlists the help of Geoffrey, a 17-year-old whom she catches shoplifting. Together they crack the case and become overnight celebrities. With the encouragement of her husband, Robert (Derek Benfield), Hetty opens her own detective agency. It’s not long before she and Geoffrey are hired to probe the mysterious death of a professor. Although this episode was shot more than seven years ago, Monaghan still fondly remembers his early days on the show.
“I didn’t know anything about the business. I mean, I turned up to the set on the first day with money to pay for my lunch,” laughs the actor. “Someone had to tell me, ‘No, you’re working here so your lunch is free.’ However, even though I was wet behind the ears and naive about a number of things, it didn’t seem to come across too much in my work, you know? Yes, it looks like I’m learning—as I continue to do so today—and trying to wrap my head around things, but overall I’m happy with my early work on the program. At least I can look back on it today and not cringe,” he jokes. “I was nervous and scared but I just kept on going, and I’m more proud of that than probably anything else.”

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Some of the cast of the Lord of the Rings on the publicity circuit: from Left, Bernard Hill (King Theoden), Andy Serkis (Gollum), Elijah Wood (Frodo), Billy Boyd (Pippin), and Dominic Monaghan (Merry).[/caption]

Geoffrey and the Wainthropps started out as just friends and business associates, but they quickly became a family. “Of everyone in his life, Geoffrey was probably the closest to Mrs. Wainthropp,” notes Monaghan. “I don’t believe his real mum was too bothered with what he got up to and was more interested in doing her own thing after she and Geoffrey’s father were divorced. Hetty took on that motherly kind of role, and Geoffrey was extremely grateful for the chance she’d given him. He also respected the fact that Hetty was a very intelligent and forward-thinking woman who refused to even consider retiring.
“As for Mr. Wainthropp, I really enjoyed the relationship between him and Geoffrey. They enjoyed each other’s company and liked to tease Mrs. Wainthropp every so often. I’m sure he missed his son, who had married and moved with his wife to Australia, so in many ways he treated Geoffrey as if he were his own flesh and blood.”

ACCORDING TO MONAGHAN, HIS OFF-SCREEN relationship with his fellow cast members was just as amicable. “I was well aware of Patricia Routledge’s work and that she was a well-respected actress,” he says. “She knew that our two characters would have to have a close relationship, which is something we founded early on. Patricia and I spent nearly four years on and off hanging out together. The two of us got on very well. It was the same with Derek and me. As a young actor it was a wonderful learning experience to be around two actors who have been so successful in the business. Patricia and Derek were both quite helpful in suggesting what they felt I should be doing with my life and career.”
Along with four seasons of Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, Monaghan’s other small screen credits include the made-for TV film Hostile Waters as well as the miniseries This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper. He also played Etienne in Monsignor Renard, a four-part drama in which a priest—portrayed by the late John Thaw (of Inspector Morse)—tries to keep the faith during the German occupation of France in World War II.
“Certain scenes in Monsignor Renard were particularly challenging for me,” explains the actor. “In one, Etienne has to rape his girlfriend. As a human being and a man, it’s uncomfortable to put a woman in such a position. From an acting standpoint, you have to do the scene to the best of your ability and at the same time instil in the other person that this isn’t what you’re about and it’s not what you want to do. That’s a difficult tightrope to walk. Fortunately, I was quite close with the actress I was playing opposite. She and I talked about the scene for a couple of nights beforehand and she said to me, ‘I trust you and know that you wouldn’t put me under any undue stress. Just do what you’ve got to do and I’ll do the same.”’
The actor has nothing but praise for Monsignor Renard star John Thaw. “He was a true gentleman. Once again, here was someone who’d worked in the business for a long time and made a huge success of it. Not only did I admire the work John had done but also what he’d achieved in his lifetime. As a man, he was incredibly nice and was totally giving as an actor. We had some stressful scenes together including the one towards the end where my character breaks down in front of the priest and begs his forgiveness. John was nothing but supportive. At the time he was quite ill and yet didn’t allow that to affect his performance. I was really upset when John died because I would’ve loved to have worked with him again and show my gratitude for how he helped me out as a young actor.”

STEVEN ERAMO writes a regular column about British television for PBS programme guides.