» ARCHIVES Forever a Hobbit     |     29 February 2004 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. [ source: nytimes ] [ main | media | archives ] CURRENT PROJECTS • I Sell The Dead (2008) Official Site Character: Arthur Blake • X-Men Origins: Wolverine (05/01/2009) Character: Barnell Bohusk/Beak • Pet (2009) Character: Seth GALLERY UPDATES        FEATURED MEDIA  Mad TV  Date: 26 April 2008  Credit: Lisa  Size: 160.0 mb  [ download ] HOT TOPICS Favourite Piece From Dom's Collection? 5 Questions for Dom Dear Dom... TOP AFFILIATES             SUPPORT  Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation  Help support a cause near and dear to Dom's heart. Volunteer, donate or even adopt an orangutan! EMAIL Username :: Password :: [ sign up | password ] SEARCH FOR DOM :: Amazon.com :: AllPosters.com :: eBay.com SITE Since: 14 January 2004 Online: LiveJournal: stardom_lj Part of: Cerebralmunky Hosted by: Fan-Sites.org Designed by: Janine Mischor © starDom 2004-2008