Smiling Through

Actor Dominic Monaghan landed his big break thanks to his big cheesy grin...

Dominic Monaghan smiled his way to success at the audition for his role as Geoffrey Shawcross in the detective series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates.

The 19-year-old actor says: 'When the producers took my photo, I noticed that all the pictures of the other actors who were auditioning for the role were scowling -- so I decided to give a big cheesy grin!

'I found out I'd got the part two days before my birthday,' he adds. 'I was so excited, I just ran up and down the stairs.'

Dominic, whose only other acting experience had been in school plays, was made very welcome by the cast -- particularly actress Patricia Routledge, who plays Hetty.

'I was a big fan of Patricia from her performances in Victoria Wood as Seen on TV and Keeping Up Appearances, and she was really motherly to me,' says Dominic. 'She helped me to learn my lines, gave me lots of advice and looked after me.'

On screen, their characters have the same kind of relationship. Geoffrey has had a tough family life and Hetty takes him under her matronly wing. 'She sees that he has lots of energy and decides he's the one who can help her with her investigations,' explains Dominic.

But, although Patricia helped him find his feet on set, Dominic nearly lost them again during filming. 'We had our wellies on and we were splodging and slipping around. A few people actually toppled over -- not me, though!'

Dominic, who lives with his parents in Stockport, is thrilled to have one foot on the first rung of the acting ladder. His next ambition is to find a steady girlfriend. 'There's no one at the moment, but I'm open to offers!'

As long as Hetty approves of his choice, of course!

Words: Liz Jarvis
Photographs: BBC