Given Name: Dominic Monaghan
Birthdate: December 8, 1976
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Character in the Lord of the Rings: Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck
Television Debut in: Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (playing Geoffrey Shawcross)
Film Debut in: Monsignor Renard
Quotes:
"When the story begins, Merry is in the prime of his life, he's having fun and he's well liked. He's really just one of the lads. Then, as the journey unfolds, he finds himself in situations where he has to look after people or make decisions that a hobbit would never normally have to make."
"My dad's a vig fan of Tolkien. He used to go on and on about what a great book The Hobbit was and how Bilbo Baggins was such a fantastic character. Once I'd read The Hobbit, he gave me The Lord of the Rings, saying that it was a challenge, but was well worth reading. He was right: it is a challenge, because it's so big and huge and vast, but it's well worth it!"
"Merry and Pippin come across as vibrant characters. Frodo is weighed down by the mission he's got to undertake and Sam is terrible serious about doing his job, but these two are really the wild cards in the pack and the spice in the Fellowship."
"I think that Merry is well known in the Shire: he's charming and cheeky, and I imagine that all the hobbit mothers probably pretend to be annoyed by him but really like him!"