Dominic Monaghan (/ˈdɒmɨnɨk ˈmɒnəhæn/; born December 8 1976) is an English actor. He has received international attention from playing Meriadoc Brandybuck in Peter Jackson's epic film trilogy The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003), and for his role as Charlie Pace on the television show Lost (2004–2010). In 2009, he played Chris Bradley / Bolt in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Biography

Monaghan is a nature lover, and has been active in the planting of trees, cacti and the pod-seeds of mature hedge-row bushes. He owns a small forest in India, and has worked with the animal rights group PETA. Monaghan has a great love for insects and reptiles that he developed during his childhood, and has kept an assortment of pets, including a leaf-mantis named Gizmo, a black widow spider named Witchitar and an albino snake named Blink. The newly discovered species of spiders Ctenus monaghani (de:Ctenus monaghani) is named after him.

An avid outdoorsman, Monaghan enjoys activities such as surfing, kayaking, snowboarding, football, basketball and hiking. He has also stated that he likes hunting for insects and reptiles outdoors. He learned karate as a child, used to practice yoga, and often goes to the gym for strength and weight training. He is a longtime fan of hometown English Premier League football team Manchester United since his childhood, despite his father being a fan of Manchester City. His character Charlie Pace in Lost was also a Manchester United fan.

Monaghan loves to play various games, and has hosted game nights for fellow cast members in the past. He is also fond of working the New York Times crossword puzzle.

On his right arm he has a tattoo of the Elvish word "nine" written in the fictional language of Quenya, a reference to his involvement in The Lord of the Rings and the fact that his character was one of the nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring. Seven other cast members and John Rhys-Davies' stunt double also got matching tattoos during the film's production, at Monaghan's instigation. Below that tattoo is another that reads, "Life imitates art", an Oscar Wilde quote. On his left arm is a tattoo, "Living is easy with eyes closed", a line from The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever". He also has two stars tattooed on his left foot, one black, and one white. In 2010, Monaghan got two more tattoos, one on the upper side of the back ("Love you take is equal to the love you make", taken from the song "The End" by The Beatles). The other, done by Kat Von D on the television show LA Ink, is located on his lower right arm and reads "Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter", a quote from Yoda.

He resides in Los Angeles, California. In 2008, Monaghan held a photographic exhibition in Los Angeles in which he sold prints of his own works. A portion of the proceeds from the exhibition were given to an orangutan rescue organisation.

Past relationships include his Lost co-star Evangeline Lilly from 2004 to 2009. In December 2013, Monaghan claimed that Lilly had cheated on him, sparking outrage over Twitter.

In June 2008, Monaghan travelled to Argentina with Lilly to film the pilot of the American version of CQC.

Monaghan provided the inspiration for the naming of Billy Boyd's band Beecake after he sent his friend a picture of a cake covered in bees.

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