Dominic Monaghan: 'I'd Go Back To 'Lost' In a Heartbeat'

Not many actors could go from playing a sing-songy hobbit in the fantastical "Lord of the Rings" trilogy to playing a sing-songy heroin addict in the fantastic "Lost," but Dominic Monaghan has never been comfortable with being boxed in.



For his next act, the 32-year-old is starring in the low-budget/high-concept 18th century-set thriller "I Sell The Dead," premiering tomorrow at Slamdance. In the film, Dominic plays Arthur Blake, a graverobber who spent years chasing creatures that refused to accept their place amongst the dead.

The hilarious, scary, stunning -- and in Dom's own words, "tickling" -- film is just the latest project for the actor who will soon be starring in "Wolverine" and promises that Charlie will be retuning to "Lost" if he has his way!

PopWrap: What first attracted you to "I Sell The Dead?"
Dominic Monaghan: I get involved with projects based on three parameters -- the script, the actors involved and the director. Now I'm fortunate enough to be in a position where I read quite a lot of scripts and I felt that this was one of the strongest I've read, in terms of voice, in ages.

PW: The dark humor of it?
Dominic: You don't get to read many scripts with the kind of Celtic black humor that Glenn [McQuaid] had written into it. It has a very British feel to it, in the sense that when bad things happen people tend to laugh at them and be sarcastic and have fun with it. I think that's quite unique.

PW: I was amazed, based on the European look of the finished film, that you filmed in New York.
Dominic: We did a lot of work in New Jersey, too, over Christmas. Bitterly cold. One of the coldest shoots I've ever done. It was pretty grim to be honest, but it all worked to be honest because we're supposed to be poor, unable to afford good clothes and we don't have enough food to eat and we can't light a fire.


PW: It was like mother nature made you a method actor.
Dominic: Exactly. I think they made the film, which cost less than $1 million, look like a $2 or $3 million film. I was very impressed, but I don't get involved with films based on their budgets -- if it has a fantastic script and $50,000, we'll find a way to make it work. I had so much fun on this shoot, shivering in a little dressing room with Larry Fessenden and taking little nips of Jameson's whiskey from a hip flask to keep us warm at night. That was the charming part of the film, and I wouldn't have changed it for anything.

PW: You went straight from filming your last episode of "Lost" to shooting this film, that must have been quite a culture shock.
Dominic: It was quite cathartic for me, too, because when I let go of a character who was sympathetic and endearing as Charlie was, I grieved that passing. So it was nice to immediately jump into work and not have time to feel too sentimental about it.

PW: Plus, your character Arthur couldn't be more different from Charlie
Dominic: Yes, Arthur is quite proactive in his actions, and quite a strong character -- obviously not physically, but he stands up for himself. And it was nice to literally put on a new costume.


PW: Glenn not only wanted you for this role, but he postponed shooting for two weeks until you became available; that's got to feel quite nice.
Dominic: It's a place I've been trying to get to in my career since I started. If a director is holding up production because of the value of your cooperation, it just makes you work harder and harder. It's hugely complimentary.

PW: Did playing a graverobber bring to mind any of the terrible jobs you had prior to acting?
Dominic: When I was at college, I worked in a department store called Brit Home Stores, which is a pretty lackluster department store, selling clothes for middle-aged women. My job was to walk the floor and find anything that was damaged, take it to the store room and log it. Quite a lot of menial labor and I was treated in that regard, so that wasn't the greatest job I ever had. But I've been quite lucky with jobs and I try to approach any job with as much positivity as possible because then you get a positive thing out of a negative situation.

PW: Since I'm sure you can't get out of any interview without the subject of "Lost" coming up, I won't mess with tradition -- any chance Charlie will pop up in the final two seasons?
Dominic: The way I answer that question now is to say that unfortunately it's not up to me, it's up to Damon [Lindeloff]. I've been such a fan of Charlie -- the way he entered the show, the way he exited the show, the way he came back in season 4. They've treated him with a great amount of respect and tenderness. If it was up to me, I would revisit that character a dozen times if they gave him the same sensitivity they've given over the years. Obviously it's down to the writers, but I would go back in a heartbeat.



PW: Are you just as curious as the fans as to where the show is headed?
Dominic: I am. I've known Damon long enough now to understand how intelligent he is as a writer and how respectful he is of the project he's crafted, so I'm just excited to see what's going on in his brain. I don't have any doubts he'll finish it off with a huge shebang. But I'm like everyone else, a huge fan of the show and I want to see who's going to survive and what the ultimate cliffhanger is going to be.


PW: You are also a part of the upcoming "Wolverine" movie; how did that come about?
Dominic: One of my favorite films of the past 5 years is "The Fountain" -- it's just a work of a brilliant mind. So I've managed to sit down with [director] Darren Aronofsky over the years and tell him how much I enjoyed the project. I've done the same with Rachel Weisz. Hugh Jackman was the one person missing from that equation. So, I'd become friends with a guy at Fox who happened to call me one Thursday saying there was a part for me in the "Wolverine" movie and to call him on Friday after I'd read the script. So I called him Friday morning saying I loved the part and he called me back at 1 p.m. asking if I could be on a plane at 4 p.m.

PW: Just like that!
Dominic: Yep. I flew to Sydney, was there for about nine days of filming. I'm actually going back to do another 10 days in Vancouver at the end of January. It's a very exciting project. I'm a big fan of Hugh and I think the film will be a great thing to sit back in the cinema and strap on your seat belt and watch this huge beast of a movie explode.

PW: Are the 10 days reshoots or adding in new scenes?
Dominic: We're doing a bit of both, more than anything else, it's an additional scene which I would get shot in the head if I told you anything about. But my character features in a huge set piece with Hugh and Liev [Schreiber]. I think the best thing I can tell you is that it's a flashback scene.

PW: Between reshoots and going to Slamdance, it sounds like 2009 is going to be quite busy for you.
Dominic: I've got a hectic schedule, but I wouldn't have my life any other way. I'm really excited to see the audiences reaction to "I Sell The Dead," and to spend some time with the boys again.

PW: Will tomorrow's premiere be the first time you've seen the film with an audience?
Dominic: It will. My friend and I watched it the other day and my mom and dad have seen it. I think the best reaction I've heard is that people are tickled by it. It's a very cheeky film with endearing characters and it has a really unique voice that you haven't heard before.

Source: Popwrap

Lost's Dominic Monaghan Cast in Sci-Fi Film 'Fortuna'

Dominic Monaghan had a nice, long run on Lost. His portrayal of Charlie, the heroin-addicted former rock star, was nuanced and integral to the overall Lost mythology, and most fans were very sad to see him go. For an actor, leaving a well-paying consistent job on a popular television show can be difficult, especially for someone like Monaghan, who doesn't possess movie star looks and who will most likely have to spend his career working smaller roles. Dominic has just been cast in a new science fiction film set in the year 2100 called Fortuna. The film takes place in a bleak and depressing future, where climate change and a struggling economy has created a vast chasm between the wealthy and everyone else.


Fortuna is about a game that the wealthy have concocted to give the impoverished hope in the depressing times they live in. In the game Fortuna, one thousand desperate contestants vie to win a spot amongst the wealthy. However, there is more to the game than the participants would like to believe – none of the contestants are ever seen from again, which puts the elite class's goal of reducing poverty by 30% over the next 50 years in a much different light. Dominic Monaghan and Freddie Rodriguez (Six Feet Under) play contestants who enter into the game, despite their skepticism. Barthelemy Grossmann, who wrote the script and will direct, also will portray a contestant. Shooting begins November 10 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

While Dominic Monaghan is mostly known for his work on Lost and in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I think he'll have a nice filmography twenty years from now. In Lost, he showed off impressive acting range, and he has an interesting look, which will always allow him to find good work. If he plays his cards right, Monaghan could be one of our generation's most beloved character actors for years to come.

Source: buddytv.com

'Chuck' Finds 'Lost' Boy Monaghan

In what marks his first major TV gig since Lost, Dominic Monaghan has signed on to guest-star on NBC's Chuck as -- stop me if this sounds familiar -- a free-spirited British rock star targeted for death by a shadowy group of evildoers. And the similarities to his Lost alter ego Charlie don't end there. Well, actually, yes, they do. "This is a very, very different kind of character," insists executive producer Josh Schwartz of Monaghan's metalhead, who makes an in-store appearance at Buy More and ends up getting entangled in one of Chuck's spy games. "He's a lunatic in the best sense of the word. And there's no heroin [addiction]." Monaghan's participation is only half the Feb. 2 episode's sell: It also will air partly in 3-D, piggybacking on NBC's 3-D Super Bowl stunt. (The network will broadcast the big game the night before.) Aside from the cool factor of seeing himself in 3-D, what drew Monaghan to the role? Did he have any hesitation about channeling someone who, at least on paper, so closely resembles Charlie? And might his tube return be the precursor to another Lost comeback? Hmmm….Sounds like the set-up to an exclusive Q&A with Dominic Monaghan. Scratch that. It is the set-up to an exclusive Q&A with Dominic Monaghan.



AUSIELLO: Welcome back to TV. Why now and why Chuck?
DOMINIC MONAGHAN: I wanted to work with Josh Schwartz. I've been wanting to be in business with him for a long time. My agent got me more and more interested in his work and his background and his sensibilities and we've been looking for a way to [connect] for a while now. He's my age, he's smart and cool and, obviously, extremely invested in the industry. He's a comic book fan, he's a movie fan, he's a big fan of TV and gives it a lot of respect. It's the same reason I wanted to work on Lost. I walked into a meeting with Damon Lindelof and J.J. Abrams and really considered those two people to be the real future of television.


Your Chuck character, Tyler Martin, sounds strangely familiar…
He is an English rock star, so obviously there are similarities [to Charlie]. But this is a comedic role. Charlie was not incredibly comedic on purpose. I think Charlie had funny moments, but Charlie was quite tortured and into meth. The guy that I play on Chuck is just an out-and-out lunatic. If you were to look up "definitive rock star" in the dictionary, there would be a picture of him. But there was definitely a little trepidation. I never want to play the same thing twice.

What persuaded you to do it?
After meeting Josh Schwartz and reading the script, I realized that Charlie could never be this person. Charlie would not be a fan of Tyler. Charlie got into rock and roll for the music and to try and help himself in a therapeutic way. And I think Tyler got into rock and roll because he realizes that that's the easiest way to get free flights around the world. He's like Charlie in a hallucinogenic dream. He's like what Charlie would be in his most brilliant moment, but Tyler is like that all the time. So I thought it might be something that would tickle people to see.


When are you returning to Lost?
That's more of a question for Damon Lindelof. I don't really have a huge amount of control over that. I had a great time on the show, and I think Charlie is a character that is definitely missed. I know a lot of people on the show -- myself included -- get asked a lot of questions about when he's coming back. The general public seems to think he's on his way back at some point. But that's something for Damon to answer. All I can really say is if it was the right thing, of course I'd go back.

Do you still watch the show?
I watch it here and there. It's not as simple for me to watch it as it used to be, because, obviously, being on the show, I felt it was needed for me to watch it just to stay in that zone. Obviously, it's not as essential for me to watch it. But of course I know what's going on.

Source: ausiellofiles.ew.com