| The Mail on Sunday: You Magazine (UK), 9 December 2001 |
| Articles & Interviews - 2001 | |||
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Dominic Makes Merry Dominic Monaghan is heading for superstardom with his first major movie role, playing the hobbit Merry in the upcoming Lord of the Rings trilogy. But he is already learning that fame has its drawbacks - and it's not money or girls BY RACHEL COOKE PHOTOGRAPHS: LIAM DUKE Dominic Monaghan is wearing baggy denims, trainers and a black T-shirt with the word 'irritant' written on it in white. An impish knot of nervous energy, he sits down beside me and carefully yanks his jeans up over his belly button in an effort to hide the top of his Man United underpants. Too late. I have spotted them already. 'They're boxer shorts,' he says, jabbing his finger in the direction of my notepad. 'Make sure you get that right. I don't want anyone thinking I wear anything else.' Thanks to his forthcoming appearance as a hobbit called Merry in the long-awaited film of Lord of the Rings, 24-year-old Berlin-born Monaghan is about to become an international superstar. He has a big Hollywood agent, and thousands of little plastic figurines have already been cast in his likeness. From first impressions, the description on his T-shirt should be spot-on. However, he turns out to be funny and self-deprecating. As he is the first to admit, he doesn't have the kind of looks that mean he can sit silently in a corner, oozing testosterone. 'My elder brother is very good-looking,' he says. 'Eventually, someone will always come over and talk to him, even if he doesn't say a word. But I've never been able to rely on the way I look to meet girls. I just talk instead that's my thing. My talent is for making people laugh. That's why so many of my friends are girls. I really enjoy their company. Actually, it's a bit disconcerting. The other day I did a test at the back of a book called Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Mops. I came out as being the most feminine man ever. Outrageous! A 'terrible show-off' as a child, Monaghan knew early on that he wanted to act. The son of a nurse and a teacher, he spent his first 12 years in Germany before the family moved back home to Manchester. It was there that Dominic got involved in youth theatre. A talent-spotter noticed him and urged him to attend an open audition for the BBC series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, starring Patricia Routledge. Five recalls later, aged just 18, Monaghan landed the part as Wainthropp's geeky sidekick, Geoffrey. 'I didn't find the auditions intimidating,' he says. 'I had nothing to lose because I didn't think I'd get the part anyway. The night the first episode was screened, my parents had a party. I was in my room with all my mates, trying to be cool. As soon as I came on, of course, everyone ran upstairs. The part was a real baptism of fire. I knew nothing, and Patricia was this great big star. She gave me lots of tips - things I still take with me to every job, such as how to conserve my energy, and to always speak clearly.' Monaghan followed this debut with several minor roles in theatre and TV. Then he was asked to read for Lord of the Rings. To his amazement he found himself with a role in a movie with a multimillion-pound budget and a cast that includes Cate Blanchett, Liv Tyler and Sean Bean. The trilogy, all three parts of which were shot simultaneously on location in New Zealand, wrapped almost a year ago: Dominic, however, still wears the ear-to-ear grin of someone who can barely believe his luck. 'I read the books when I was 15, and my dad is a big Tolkien fan. But the main thing was that I was just so proud that they trusted in my ability to do the job. Then again, I didn't have too much time to think about ir- I had a week to get ready before I flew to New Zealand for a year. My grandma was ill and I had to get my head round the fact that I probably wouldn't see her again. It was stressful.' Monaghan flew out with the eight other actors who, in the film, play the characters who belong to the Fellowship of the Ring - a loyal band who vow to protect each other with their lives. These actors include Bean, Ian McKellen. Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom and Monaghan's closest friend in the cast, Billy Boyd. 'The nine of us becarne very close,' he says. 'We learned to kayak, surf, horse ride and sword fight together. And some very good friendships sprang up.' For the duration of his stay in Wellington, Monaghan lived in a sprawling penthouse flat with a balcony which, during the summer months, came in handy for barbecues. Family and friends flew out to visit, but mostly he was far too busy working to socialise. 'We had to be in make-up by five o'clock in the morning. First, I had to have my pointy ears attached, which was very fiddly - the glue stings and ruins your skin. Then I had my wig fitted, which took almost an hour. After that, someone would give my skin some cuts and bruises and a bit of dirt - hobbits are always dirty because they love the earth. Finally, I'd go into special effects to put my hairy feet on. They were easy to walk in, but if you accidentally stood in a puddle you'd end up having wet feet all day. I think we all had trench foot by the end.' The cast were on set until 7pm, with another hour spent taking off all the make-up at the end of the day. Monaghan arrived home at around ten o'clock, and worked six, sometimes seven days a week. 'We did get tired, but you have to fight it. If someone was flagging, we'd all be there to help them out.' Monaghan insists that he is prepared for fame - if, indeed, it does arrive. He is, however, aware that some of his friends' attitudes towards him have changed. 'Unfortunately, I've already become a bit wary. It's a horrible thing to say, but recently I've been conscious of some people who weren't necessarily my friends before getting in touch with me. My way of dealing with that is very tentative. I don't want to say anything to them in case I look like a bighead, but I don't particularly want to go out with them either. In my position, people are going to say you're an egomaniac whatever you do. They assume that with a film comes fame, money and girls, and there is a level of resentment about that. 'I'm single at the moment though,' he says, with a laugh. 'And that's a good thing - really. Life's moving too fast for relationships: I meet too many people. So for the moment, I'm just going to enjoy flirting.' [Transcribed by Margarete, for The Unofficial Official site.]
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