DOMINIC MONAGHAN rose to prominence as the young hobbit called Meriadoc ('Merry') Brandybuck in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, before going on to appear in cult TV show Lost.
He played the electricity-manipulating mutant Chris Bradley, codenamed Bolt, in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and more recently starred as the scientific genius Simon Campos in sci-fi series FlashForward, which is now out on DVD.
Dominic, 33, who was born in Berlin and moved to Britain with his parents when he was 11, speaks here about FlashForward, Lost and his new film Soldiers of Fortune as well as giving his views on the big-screen version of The Hobbit.
He admits he'd love to have played Bilbo Baggins in the two-part Tolkien adaptation. Athough it has today emerged that Martin Freeman has landed that role, Dominic still hopes he could return as Meriadoc if the second Hobbit film bridges the gap to the first Lord of the Rings movie.
Here's what he had to say.
WHAT CONVINCED YOU TO APPEAR IN FLASHFORWARD?
I met with the creators and they asked me, 'what do you want to do next?' I responded by telling them I wanted to play someone drastically different from the last character I played. I wrote down all the new things I wanted to do and they fashioned the idea of Simon (Campos - his FlashForward character) so it was difficult to say no at that point as they had done everything I had asked.
IT MUST HAVE BEEN FLATTERING TO HAVE A PART CREATED FOR YOU?
It was really flattering. I read the pilot and I didn't think that there was anything that I could do, although I did like the project. I told them that I liked the pilot but couldn't play an American because I wouldn't play the part as well as an American actor so they then wrote Simon.
HOW DID YOU REACT WHEN YOU DISCOVERED THAT THE SHOW HAD BEEN CANCELLED?
I was out for dinner with a few cast members when one of the creators turned up and told us. We were all really sad and disappointed. I think there is a lot of reasons why it got cancelled but I don't think it had anything to do with ratings. Issues at ABC and changes with the show meant it went the way it did. We were sad that it went that way and I felt bad for the creators who had a lot more invested in it than we did.
WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT FROM FILMING FLASHFORWARD?
I like the scene where I'm strangling the guy in the basement of the baseball stadium - I thought that was really fun. I learnt to do the Rubik's Cube on FlashForward. One of my abiding memories was doing the Cube.
SOME CRITICS THINK THE SHOW DIDN'T CAPTURE THE IMAGINATION OF VIEWERS LIKE IT PROMISED TO - WHAT DO YOU THINK?
It did quite well in other countries and for shows to do as well as FlashForward did and then get cancelled in America really didn't follow through. The changes didn't fill anyone with a huge amount of confidence that the show was doing okay and I think that is why it was cancelled.
LOST WAS A BIG PART OF YOUR LIFE. HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU FINISHED FILMING THE SIXTH AND FINAL SERIES?
I made my peace with that show a long time ago. I died in season three and probably halfway through series four I was happy with the story I told on that show. Coming back was always a bonus so doing those last scenes in season six I did not feel particularly involved in the show any more. It was good to go back but I had said goodbye a long time ago.
DID YOU THINK JJ ABRAMS FINISHED THE SHOW AT THE RIGHT TIME?
Yeah, I think it was the right time. I think a show like that cannot drag on and needs to end in the correct way.
DID YOU EVER THINK LOST WAS GOING TO BE SUCH A SUCCESSFUL SHOW WHEN YOU STARTED FILMING?
I had always thought it was going to be a big show. I remember talking to JJ (Abrams) about it and saying how there had never been anything like it on television before and I thought it would blow up. So it was not that big of a shock for me when it did. It had a great cast and crew and an exotic location and a story that had not been told too often so I always thought it was a slam dunk.
YOUR LATEST FILM, SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE, IS DUE OUT SOON. TELL ME ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER
I play this guy called Tommy Sin, a video game designer and multimillionaire. It is the story about a bunch of very rich people who pay a premium of money to put themselves into real life skirmishes. I thought the script and cast was really interesting. Christian Slater, James Cromwell, Ving Rhames and Sean Bean - I just thought that was a nice group of people to work with. I went to the Ukraine which was an education to say the least and I had a broken foot at the time so that was the fun part.
DID YOUR INJURY HAMPER FILMING?
It was written in that I had a broken foot, but I was definitely annoyed to be running up hills with a broken foot.
WHAT ROLES WOULD YOU LIKE TO TACKLE IN THE FUTURE?
I try to jump from one range to another range. It is always about variation for me. There is no particular genre that I do not want to do - so if it is good television or movies I will do it. There are film-makers and actors that I admire and want to work with but really it is just about variation and picking the right project.
THE HOBBIT COMES OUT IN 2012. DO YOU THINK PETER JACKSON SHOULD STEP INTO THE VOID AND DIRECT THE FILM AS WELL AS PRODUCE IT?
I've always felt that way. It is Pete's world - he created it, it is his Middle Earth, it is his Gandalf, and it is his Gollum. I've always felt that he should direct it but obviously Pete is very busy and has a lot of projects and therefore might not be able to give all his time to a project like The Hobbit, but I think anyone who has worked with him or knows him would like him to direct it himself.
WHO WOULD HAVE BEEN YOUR CHOICE FOR BILBO BAGGINS?
Me. I would like them to change the way I look, maybe give me a false nose and different ears so I could play him. I think I would make a very good Bilbo.
ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT THE FILM'S RELEASE?
I'm hoping I'll get a chance to see some filming and be in New Zealand when it comes out. It's a big deal for me, Billy Boyd, Elijah (Wood) and Viggo (Mortensen), we're all excited because we are fans of Pete and fans of the movie so we will be there, front row, as fans, as much as anyone else. Perhaps we will get the chance to be in Pete's inner sanctum when those movies come out.
THERE HAS BEEN SOME SUGGESTION THAT THE SECOND HOBBIT FILM WILL BRIDGE THE GAP WITH THE LORD OF THE RINGS. WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN PLAYING MERRY ONCE AGAIN?
Of course. I have a relationship with Pete where there is nothing that I will not do for him. If he rang me up, he would not have to twist my arm. The chance to be on set with Elijah, Viggo, Orlando (Bloom) and Sean Bean again would be so much fun. Whether or not that is actually going to happen is a different story altogether.
http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/thegeekfiles/2010/10/dominic-monaghan-wants-role-in.html
