The Dominic Monaghan Resource - Khaleej Times Online, 10 October 2006

Khaleej Times Online, 10 October 2006

Articles & Interviews - 2006

Lost and found
10 October 2006

Dominic Monaghan can't hide. Pretty much everywhere and anywhere he goes, someone recognises him, chats him up, requests an autograph and/or asks him to pose for a photo. That happens when an actor connects with two show-business phenomena, as Monaghan has done first with "The Lord of the Rings" (2001-2003) and again with the current ABC hit "Lost."

It has, Monaghan acknowledges during a telephone call from his Los Angeles home, taken some getting used to.

"I think, after 'Rings,' I was in a position to understand (fame) a little bit better and avoid the pitfalls to a certain extent," the actor says. "I've continued to become more and more of a private person as the business and professional sides of my life have become more and more successful. I think that's inevitable.

"But I just don't think I necessarily bought into the success of it as much as other people," he continues, "and that was probably rewarding. It's all a mirage, you know? It's not real, it's not tangible. It's not something you can truly grab hold of. This idea of fame is like trying to have a relationship with a ghost. It doesn't actually exist — the only reason it exists is because people talk about it.

"So, for me, I just try to disregard it," Monaghan says. "It's not the reason why I became an actor, and it's certainly not the reason why I continue to be an actor.

"I love to act," he says. "Yes, fame helps you get better roles, so you want a level of success, but for me it's the equivalent of making a casserole and then sloughing off the top layer of oil and fat that comes out from all the good stuff. It's a byproduct you don't necessarily need to munch on.

"So that perspective has allowed me to take it for what it was and not jump in the deep end with it."

Certainly it's helped Monaghan's mental well-being that he shoots "Lost" far away from the limelight, in Hawaii. He's back there now for an extended stint, as he and the rest of the show's cast and crew embark on Year 3 of the hit series. ABC will launch the new season on October 4, as the survivors of the ill-fated Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 continue to battle each other, the Others, assorted creatures and their own personal demons.

Monaghan plays one of the most troubled characters, Charlie, "a minorly successful singer/songwriter/bass player in a minorly successful band" who used to indulge in the rock-star lifestyle. He enjoyed the company of groupies, drank excessively, developed a heroin addiction and then, consumed by guilt, tried to do something about it, or at least wrote songs about his experiences. Even now, after he's survived the crash and forged bonds with new mother Claire (Emilie de Ravin) and the enigmatic Locke (Terry O'Quinn), for Charlie nothing much — and yet everything — has changed.

"In the pilot I don't think Charlie was really thinking too much about the future," Monaghan says, "because he had a bag of heroin and thought he was probably going to get rescued in the next three or four days. He was probably trying to get in Shannon's pants and probably trying to get in Claire's pants and probably trying to get in Kate's pants. And ultimately he was in shock.

"Where we find him now, at the start of Season 3, is he's someone who has killed someone else," the actor says. "He's a murderer. He now has that on his plate. He's someone who's been deeply touched by jealousy and frustration, in terms of his relationship with Claire and his relationship with Locke. He's someone who's been ejected from the group every so often.

"So he's a long way from the bare bones of him we saw when we were first getting to know him," Monaghan says, "when we saw him playing the guitar and knowing he had enough heroin to get him through the weekend and was wondering what girl he'd be chasing around. That stuff is not as important to him now as coming to terms with the fact that he could be on this island forever. He's got to figure out who he can rely on and who's there for him and who he wants to be there for."

Monaghan could end up adding plenty more meat to Charlie's bones if "Lost" remains as popular in the future as it is now. However, the actor hesitates when asked if he's prepared for another few years of playing Charlie.

"Who knows?" he says. "It all depends on how things go. The end of the show could come this season, next season or in a few years. They could kill off Charlie. And for me, in terms of how ready I am, that answer changes every day. Some days you love it and could do it forever, and some days you're just done with it. We're just going to have to wait and see.

"I'm 29 years old," Monaghan continues. "I have a lot of things I want to achieve, both in the acting world and outside of it. Right now 'Lost' is an amazing thing, and I'm really grateful for all the opportunities I've gotten from it and how much fun I've had doing the show. But I might feel differently about that in two weeks' time or in two years' time.

"I might misbehave and throw a tantrum on stage and refuse to look people in the eye and not shake people's hands, and they might kick me off," he says. "Stranger things have happened."