Forever a Hobbit: Dominic Monaghan

By JANELLE BROWN
New York TImes
Published: February 29, 2004


LOS ANGELES
Where hobbits go, "Lord of the Rings" fanatics follow. On a Tuesday
night earlier this month in West Hollywood, Dominic Monaghan —
better known as the mischievous hobbit Merry in the trilogy — found
it difficult to walk through a room without fans throwing themselves
at him, offering their allegiance and luck at the Oscars.

At Woo Lae Oak, a Korean barbecue restaurant where Mr. Monaghan is a
regular, a waiter insisted on telling Mr. Monaghan that the
three "Lord of the Rings" films were his favorite movies — ever! —
before he would take his order.

After the waiter moved away, Mr. Monaghan, 27, screwed his elastic
face into a naughty grin and said, "I paid him to say that."

Mr. Monaghan's friends Shoxwaken Hincks, a musician; Callie Kever, a
waitress; Ryan Farhoudie, his personal trainer; and Amy Vasco, who
works in marketing, were optimistic about the Oscars. "They've just
been waiting for all three movies to come out," Mr. Hincks
said. "It's guaranteed to happen this year." (The Academy Awards
show is tonight on ABC.)

Mr. Monaghan ducked his head modestly. "The third one is hard to
enjoy. It's a real journey. Very stressful and emotional."

He ordered for everyone. "O.K., the rule is everyone is in charge of
one dish," he explained, as plates of raw meat and fish began to
arrive. "Cook it and make sure everyone gets some." He seized a
piece of marinated ostrich with his chopsticks and tossed it on the
grill in the center of the table.

The table belched smoke as a round of Hite, a Korean beer, arrived.
Mr. Monaghan speared a scallop: "It's a taste sensation!" he
announced. Unable to sit still, he tapped out rhythms on the table
with his fingers and bounced up and down.

"Hey buddy!" he shouted at no one, in a plausible New Jersey cop
accent. He had been practicing his American accent, he explained. He
was born in Berlin and reared in Manchester, England, and was an
actor on British television before he landed the role in "Lord of
the Rings." Since his return from New Zealand, where the trilogy was
filmed, he has been living in Los Angeles and auditioning for
American films and television shows.

"Some days the accent works, some days it doesn't," he said. "They
go, `That was American? We thought it was Swedish.' "

Conversation turned from "best cover songs ever" (the consensus:
Jeff Buckley's rendition of "Hallelujah"), to Mr. Monaghan's pet
albino snake (the latest in a collection of curious pets, including
a leaf mantis and a black widow spider), to tattoo parlors. Mr.
Monaghan plans to have Beatles lyrics, possibly "Strawberry Fields
Forever," inscribed on his body. "I get tattoos whenever I'm at a
transition in my life," he said. "I got one last year when `Lord of
the Rings' ended, too."

After the last morsel of meat had been properly charred, Mr.
Monaghan took a vote for the next destination: Paris Hilton's
birthday party? "The epitome of wack," it was decided. Instead, five
cars made a caravan up La Cienega to the Spider Club, a lounge in
Hollywood.

The club was half empty, making it easy to claim a V.I.P. table by
the D.J. booth. Mr. Monaghan squirmed in his seat, mouthing the
words to 1980's songs and smoking Parliaments. He stared at an
unlikely middle-aged couple waltzing to "Bizarre Love Triangle," by
New Order. "They're slow-dancing to New Order! How do you do that?"

A round of tequila shots arrived, courtesy of the manager — a fan —
and a trickle of strangers stopped by the table to proclaim their
love of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

"He's always the coolest guy in the room, even when he's with
Orlando Bloom," Mr. Farhoudie said.

By midnight, Mr. Monaghan was looking at his watch. "I've got to get
up early for auditions," he apologized. On the way out, he was
blocked by one last fan, a woman in a feather boa who had to lean in
and shout to be heard over the ear-shattering music. "I just know
your movie's going to win this year," she yelled.

Mr. Monaghan squinched his eyes closed and crossed his fingers.