(no subject)
---Dommy Lost Article---
http://www.azcentral.com/ent/tv/articles/0925monaghan.html
Former hobbit is far from 'Lost'
Reisig & Taylor/ABC
Dominic Monaghan
Daniel Fienberg
Zap2it.com
Sept. 24, 2004 07:40 PM
Dominic Monaghan, an actor best known as one of the guardians of the ring in the Oscar-winning "Lord of the Rings" movies, is on the phone from Hawaii where he's just embarked on another jewelry quest, this time searching for earrings to send his mother for her birthday. There doesn't have to be anything mystical about the earrings, but they can't be too dangly.
Along the way, there are certainly myriad obstacles. Over the course of a 25-minute interview, Monaghan is stopped repeatedly for autographs and pictures. He's also accosted by one person who knows the unassuming thespian looks familiar, but can't identify him. Monaghan cops to being an actor, but notes only that he's filming "Lost" on the island for ABC.
A minute later, the same person returns, more confident.
"Were you in that hobbit thing?"
"Yeah, that's right, I was one of the hobbits," Monaghan says, only slightly drawn out. "I was at the shop across the street looking for earrings for my mum, but do you know any other craft-y shops?"
Safely away from his semi-fan and back on the streets, Monaghan laughs at the exchange.
"I think it's the cheesiest thing in the world to be saying 'Oh, I'm an actor' and for people to go 'Oh, yeah?' and for you to say 'Yes, you may have seen me in such films as blah, blah blah,' " he explains. "I help them along the way, but at no point do I say, 'Oh, I'm in 'Lord of the Rings" because that's like saying 'Oh, I'm a Los Angeles Laker.' "
As good-spirited and occasionally resourceful hobbit Merry Brandybuck, Monaghan was part of a trilogy that earned billions, but also roared through the Oscars, running the table at this year's ceremony. In addition to coming away from the experience with fame and adoration, Monaghan quickly discovered he had been typecast.
"Generally the more pixie-type, Mogwai-kind, Furbee-variety of characters," the 26-year-old says, explaining the roles he was offered. "There's been an assumption from a lot of casting directors that I'm a very sweet, cute, cuddly, non-threatening, non-offensive type of person. I think generally I am and I do have that inside me ... but there are other things about me that I want to show people."
For many viewers, "Lost" will provide the first chance to see the German-born, Manchester, England native outside of Middle Earth. Monaghan plays Charlie, a member of a once-popular rock band which had a flourish of fame before vanishing into obscurity. Charlie is skittish and needy and has a host of other problems that are either revealed in the pilot or as the series progresses.
"He's evolving as we speak," says the actor, who has completed shooting seven episodes of the highly secretive series. "I'm trying to play him as a bad good guy. I see him as essentially a good guy, but he's got some really f---ed up elements to get through."
It's almost impossible not to read a healthy dose of Monaghan onto his character. Caught up in the "Lord of the Rings" phenomenon, but not as inextricably linked to it as an Elijah Wood or Viggo Mortensen, he's still trying to deal with the fact that fans feel that it's acceptable to come up to him in public and start touching him. Also, between lengthy location shoots for "LotR" in New Zealand and his new gig in Hawaii, Monaghan is a used to certain sense of dislocation.
"There's a lot of stuff that goes on when you leave your home," Monaghan notes with a sigh. "There're a lot of situations when you'd like to sit down with people and explain to them why you've not been around or why you've not been able to make certain events or birthdays. The bottom line is that I made the decision when I was 18 that my main drive for the foreseeable future was going to be my career. It's the thing that drives me."
A veteran of British television, including the long-running "Hetty Wainthropp Investigates," Monaghan initially had reservations about returning to the small screen and making a potentially lengthy commitment to a series. He quickly realized that "Lost" creators J.J. Abrams ("Alias") and Damon Lindelof were making a character that would let him stretch.
"I think we find Charlie at a crossroads in his life and I would like to see him struggle to work out who he's going to be and how he's going to contribute to the group," he says.
Monaghan knows what he contributes to the "Lost" group. With dozens of mysteries still unresolved after the two-part pilot, "Lost" has potential to become a cult favorite with fans every bit as passionate as the devotees of Abrams' spy drama. If that happens, Monaghan is ready to help.
"I'm in this nice position of being aware of it and being able to tell some of the younger cast members or some of the less experienced cast members that this potentially could be a life changing thing," he says. "It can get very crazy very quickly and if you don't have your wits about you, you can really start to get lost."
"Lost" premiered Wednesday at 7 p.m. on ABC.
xoxoxoxoxx-Jenny^_^Monaghan (mwahaha..)
http://www.azcentral.com/ent/tv/articles/0925monaghan.html
Former hobbit is far from 'Lost'
Reisig & Taylor/ABC
Dominic Monaghan
Daniel Fienberg
Zap2it.com
Sept. 24, 2004 07:40 PM
Dominic Monaghan, an actor best known as one of the guardians of the ring in the Oscar-winning "Lord of the Rings" movies, is on the phone from Hawaii where he's just embarked on another jewelry quest, this time searching for earrings to send his mother for her birthday. There doesn't have to be anything mystical about the earrings, but they can't be too dangly.
Along the way, there are certainly myriad obstacles. Over the course of a 25-minute interview, Monaghan is stopped repeatedly for autographs and pictures. He's also accosted by one person who knows the unassuming thespian looks familiar, but can't identify him. Monaghan cops to being an actor, but notes only that he's filming "Lost" on the island for ABC.
A minute later, the same person returns, more confident.
"Were you in that hobbit thing?"
"Yeah, that's right, I was one of the hobbits," Monaghan says, only slightly drawn out. "I was at the shop across the street looking for earrings for my mum, but do you know any other craft-y shops?"
Safely away from his semi-fan and back on the streets, Monaghan laughs at the exchange.
"I think it's the cheesiest thing in the world to be saying 'Oh, I'm an actor' and for people to go 'Oh, yeah?' and for you to say 'Yes, you may have seen me in such films as blah, blah blah,' " he explains. "I help them along the way, but at no point do I say, 'Oh, I'm in 'Lord of the Rings" because that's like saying 'Oh, I'm a Los Angeles Laker.' "
As good-spirited and occasionally resourceful hobbit Merry Brandybuck, Monaghan was part of a trilogy that earned billions, but also roared through the Oscars, running the table at this year's ceremony. In addition to coming away from the experience with fame and adoration, Monaghan quickly discovered he had been typecast.
"Generally the more pixie-type, Mogwai-kind, Furbee-variety of characters," the 26-year-old says, explaining the roles he was offered. "There's been an assumption from a lot of casting directors that I'm a very sweet, cute, cuddly, non-threatening, non-offensive type of person. I think generally I am and I do have that inside me ... but there are other things about me that I want to show people."
For many viewers, "Lost" will provide the first chance to see the German-born, Manchester, England native outside of Middle Earth. Monaghan plays Charlie, a member of a once-popular rock band which had a flourish of fame before vanishing into obscurity. Charlie is skittish and needy and has a host of other problems that are either revealed in the pilot or as the series progresses.
"He's evolving as we speak," says the actor, who has completed shooting seven episodes of the highly secretive series. "I'm trying to play him as a bad good guy. I see him as essentially a good guy, but he's got some really f---ed up elements to get through."
It's almost impossible not to read a healthy dose of Monaghan onto his character. Caught up in the "Lord of the Rings" phenomenon, but not as inextricably linked to it as an Elijah Wood or Viggo Mortensen, he's still trying to deal with the fact that fans feel that it's acceptable to come up to him in public and start touching him. Also, between lengthy location shoots for "LotR" in New Zealand and his new gig in Hawaii, Monaghan is a used to certain sense of dislocation.
"There's a lot of stuff that goes on when you leave your home," Monaghan notes with a sigh. "There're a lot of situations when you'd like to sit down with people and explain to them why you've not been around or why you've not been able to make certain events or birthdays. The bottom line is that I made the decision when I was 18 that my main drive for the foreseeable future was going to be my career. It's the thing that drives me."
A veteran of British television, including the long-running "Hetty Wainthropp Investigates," Monaghan initially had reservations about returning to the small screen and making a potentially lengthy commitment to a series. He quickly realized that "Lost" creators J.J. Abrams ("Alias") and Damon Lindelof were making a character that would let him stretch.
"I think we find Charlie at a crossroads in his life and I would like to see him struggle to work out who he's going to be and how he's going to contribute to the group," he says.
Monaghan knows what he contributes to the "Lost" group. With dozens of mysteries still unresolved after the two-part pilot, "Lost" has potential to become a cult favorite with fans every bit as passionate as the devotees of Abrams' spy drama. If that happens, Monaghan is ready to help.
"I'm in this nice position of being aware of it and being able to tell some of the younger cast members or some of the less experienced cast members that this potentially could be a life changing thing," he says. "It can get very crazy very quickly and if you don't have your wits about you, you can really start to get lost."
"Lost" premiered Wednesday at 7 p.m. on ABC.
xoxoxoxoxx-Jenny^_^Monaghan (mwahaha..)