The Greatest Thing Dominic Monaghan Gained From His Lord Of The Rings Experience - Exclusive
It has been over 20 years since Dominic Monaghan was introduced to mainstream audiences via his role as Merry the Hobbit in Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy. He quickly followed up the success by starring in the cult-hit series "Lost" and has since appeared in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," and on the six-episode sci-fi mystery "Moonhaven," which is now streaming on AMC+.
But no matter how many projects he works on, Monaghan will always be known as a Hobbit by many — and he's in good company, with fellow "Lord of the Rings" alums Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, and Billy Boyd also wearing the moniker as a badge of honor. In fact, the four Hobbits reunited in 2022 for Fan Expo conventions across North America.
During an exclusive interview with Looper, Monaghan explained why that long-lasting camaraderie is the greatest thing he gained from his time on the "Lord of the Rings" set.
Monaghan is 'still tight with' his LOTR co-stars
Reflecting back on his "Lord of the Rings" experience, Dominic Monaghan is quick on the draw when asked what stood out the most for him.
"Things that stand out from that is the friendships," he said. "That's the thing that stands out from most great jobs that you work on. You can define them by the fact that you made a really great friend ... I was fortunate enough that on that job, I made an incredible group of friends that I'm still friends with to this day. On acting jobs, you're lucky if you make a friend, and on 'Lord of the Rings,' there were multiple friends that I'm still tight with. It's the friendships there that are the most abiding thing."
As for reuniting with Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, and Billy Boyd on the convention circuit for a panel called "The Four Hobbits: An Unexpected Reunion," Monaghan just views it as another milestone in an enduring kinship.
"I see Billy every week because ... we do a podcast together," said Monaghan, adding, "I tend to see [Sean and Elijah] relatively often in terms of the rest of the 'Lord of the Rings' cast. They've been on our podcast a few times ... It's always great to see those guys. [They] are my really tight friends, and getting an opportunity to travel the country and work together is fantastic."
All six episodes of Monaghan's latest series, "Moonhaven," are now streaming on AMC+.