» BIOGRAPHY Born in Berlin, Germany, on December 8, 1976, Dominic is the younger of two boys [brother Matthew]. His schoolteacher father [Austin] and nurse mother [Aureen] spoke English at home and, when he was 12 years old, moved the family back to their native Manchester. Growing up, Dominic worked several odd jobs -- as a mail sorter, a stock boy, a sauté chef -- but he always wanted to be an actor. He enrolled at Aquinas College, a Catholic sixth form school in England, where he studied English literature, drama, and geography. By his second year, Dominic was a regular fixture in school plays. He performed in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, played the Artful Dodger in Dickens' Oliver Twist, and even portrayed American gangster Bugsy Malone. Dominic soon started acting outside of school and joined the Manchester Youth Theatre. His work with the troupe caught the attention of a talent agent, who sent him to an open casting call for the television show Hetty Wainthrop Investigates. Dominic, then only 18, made his television debut as amateur detective Routledge's underage sidekick, Geoffrey Shawcross. Dominic appeared on Hetty Wainthrop Investigates for four seasons, building a fan base and honing his craft. In the next few years, Dominic made his feature-film debut as a Russian sailor in Hostile Waters and taped the docudrama This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper, in which he portrays the boyfriend of a girl attacked by the Ripper. He also recorded his first BBC radio show, Stockport...So Good They Named It Once, a family sitcom that features Dominic as a witty, lovelorn 15 year old. Dominic was performing in a play in London when casting directors scouted him for The Lord of the Rings. As a child, he had read all three volumes of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy; the books were his father's favorite. After a formal audition for The Lord of the Rings, he left England to film the WWII miniseries Monsignor Renard in France, in which he plays a droll layabout whose life dramatically changes during the German occupation. Six months into shooting, Dominic's agent warned him to be prepared to immediately leave for Los Angeles or New Zealand to meet with Peter Jackson , The Lord of the Rings' director. The actor packed, but the meeting never occurred: Within days, he was called with an offer to play hobbit Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck, a major character in all three films. The Lord of the Rings three installments -- The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers , and The Return of the King -- were filmed simultaneously in New Zealand and kept Dominic occupied for almost two years. He has since completed two British films: Spivs and The Purifiers, as well as two independent films: An Insomniacs Nightmare and Shooting Livien. In addition to being a writer for Sean Astin's The Long and Short of It, he and LOTR co-star Billy Boyd have been collaborating on a script. After achieving fame with his role as Merry, Dominic was primarily offered "fantasy" parts in films. Wanting to avoid being typecast, Dominic expressed a desire to play someone different, a nasty, evil character. Through his role in The Lord of the Rings, Dominic was noticed and picked up for the ABC drama LOST. Dominic originally auditioned for the role of Sawyer, but was instead cast as Charlie Pace, a heroin addicted musician that played bass in a band called Driveshaft. Mid 2007 during a podcast, Dominic revealed that he didn't mind the idea of his character dying, if it meant that he could avoid being defined by the "Charlie" role. On May 23, 2007 in the Season 3 finale called "Through The Looking Glass" Charlie met his demise by drowning. Following Charlie's death, Dominic explained that he wanted to "move on", having grown frustrated with Charlie's less prominent role following Season 1. Currently Dominic is working on several films including the new X-Men movie "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", A thriller called "Pet" and the horror film "I Sell the Dead". He resides in Los Angeles, California.   [ main | dominic ] 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