Who is Dominic Monaghan?

Dominic Monaghan is best known for his role in the movie adaptations of "Lord of the Rings". Before that, he became known in England for his role in the British television drama Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1995).

He was studying English Literature, Drama and Geography at Sixth Form College when he was offered the co-starring role in the series, which ran for four seasons. His other television credits include This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper (2000) and a leading role in Monsignor Renard (2000), a series starring John Thaw.

On the stage Monaghan has performed in the world premiere UK production of The Resurrectionists, Whale and Annie and Fanny from Bolton to Rome. Since watching Star Wars when he was six years old, Dominic has been consumed by films. His other obsessions include writing, music, fashion, playing/watching soccer and surfing. Utilizing his writing skills, he and LOTR co-star Billy Boyd are collaborating on a script.

In addition to speaking fluent German, he has a knack at impersonations and accents. He frequently returns to his hometown of Manchester, England.

Trivia

  • While filming the Lord of the Rings-trilogy, he got rid of his acrophobia (fear of heights) by joining Orlando Bloom when he went bungee jumping.
  • Bought a forest in India in early 2003, to help protect the environment.
  • The producers of "Lost" were so impressed with Dom they rewrote the part of Charlie to be a 20-something guy (it was originally intended to be a middle aged rock star who had faded from glory).
  • He was given The Lord of the Rings book when he was 15, with the instruction: 'I'll give you six months to read it' - he only took two.
  • A species of spider is named after him. It's called Ctenus monaghani and was discovered in Laos while filming an episode of "Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan" (2012) {Giant Huntsman Spider (#1.2)}_ by Monaghan's guide, Dr. Peter Jäger of the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt, Germany. Jäger chose to name the spider after Monaghan because "[Monaghan] places nature in the foreground in a very special manner.".