Exclusive! Why Charlie Had To DIE!

So Jack and Kate got off the island? And who was in that casket? Lost's rule-changing season finale raised as many questions as it answered, guaranteeing that fans will be debating its mysteries until the show returns next February. But for now, let's pause to remember Charlie Pace, the ex-junkie rocker-turned-hero who drowned so that his friends could be rescued. Says executive producer Damon Lindelof, "Charlie's death is indicative of a new fell surounding the show. It's the beginning of the end." How does Dominic Monaghan feel about putting Charlie to rest? We asked him. ---Shawna Malcom

First thing first: Charlie's really dead?
Oh, yeah.

J.J. Abrams once told me that as long as Dominic came out of his trailer, he'd always have a job. Were you not coming out of your trailer anymore?
I still have that TV GUIDE. I'm gonna frame it for him and say, "Are you gonna sue them or shall I?" [Laughs] But I think that's [indicative] if where the show is right now. J.J. is one of the creators, but in terms of making the decisions, he isn't as connected as he once was.

How long have you known Carlie would die?
I've always said to Damon, "Look, if I'm gonna leave the show, I'm totally cool with it, as long as I leave on an up trajectory." We started talking in mid-October last year, just the idea that Desmond was able to predict that Charlie may be dying. I knoew in late February that I was definitely leaving.

Why would you want to leave a hit series?
Obviously, there are huge positives to being involved in a show like Lost. We film in Hawaii, and the lifestyle is a really fantastic thing. But as an actor, I've been frustrated for a while. The difference between how much the audience got to see Charlie in Season 1 as opposed to Season 2 and 3 was significant. So I think it's time for me to move on.

Still, you've been with the show since Day 1. It must've been a little emotional when you finally got the call, no?
More than anything else, I was just relieved. I've been trying to plan the rest of my career, and there's a bunch of opportunities that I couldn't commit to.

What was your last day like?
Halfway through the day, our director Jack Bender made a speech and gave me a cannoe paddle that they'd written on. I hugged all the people that I loved and said something back. Then I cowboyed u p and jumped in the water. I had a job to finish. When it was finished, I went out that night with Daniel Dae Kim [Jin] and his wife for dinner and had a few drinks and talked about it all and let off some steam.

What was on the paddle?
"For what you have given to Lost, you will always be found in our hearts."

Sweet. No karaoke send-off?
People were talking about a party, and I just didn't wanna do th at. I didn't want to turn it into a big, drunken, crazy night. My head was at trying to slip out the back door.

Of course, you'll still be seeing your girlfriend, Evangeline Lilly, right?
I don't really talk about my relationship. It's the one thing I'm trying to keep out of the press because as soon as I talk about it, it's all over the place. But she's great fun.

What's next for you?
I'm doing a film in New York ["I Sell the Dead"]. And then I"m gonna go to New Zealand to see Peter Jackson [director of "The Lord of the Rings"] and his family. He's got a couple of projects that are gonna be happening in 2008 that I'm really keen to find out about.

What did you do with your pet chameleon when you left Hawaii?
I let him go in this huge garden. I sat with him for five minutes and told him how much I enjoyed his company an dwhishe dhim well and hoped that he'd do OK. I was thinking t the time, "I've really liked this guy, an dit's a bummer that I'll probably never see him again." And then I had this breakthrough moment of thinking, "Well, I should be happy because he's gonna be happy. He's going to wake up in the morning, and he's gonna be free. He's gonna have the opportunity to do whatever he wants and call his own shots. That's a joyous thing." And I understood that's how I should feel about me right now.

Photograph by Jim Wright