Merry and Pippin Talk Friendship, Fellowship and One Wild Ride

There've been plenty of amazing transformations during the making of Lord of the Rings. Rural landscapes have turned into bustling villages. Mild-mannered extras have been done over as snarling Orcs. Oscar-nominated actors have gone toe-to-toe with dazzling special effects.
But perhaps nothing connected with director Peter Jackson's trilogy has undergone a more dramatic reworking than the lives of Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd. Monaghan, a 23-year-old Brit, and Boyd, a 32-year-old Scot, were plucked from near obscurity to play happy-go-lucky Hobbits and Fellowship of the Ring members Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry) and Peregrin Took (Pippin), respectively.
With little more than local theater and television credits, Monaghan and Boyd were thrust into a grueling 18-month shoot alongside marquee stars like Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett and Ian McKellen.
The two--who became fast friends on and off the set--took a three-week surfing vacation in Florida when filming concluded, before Monaghan relocated to Los Angeles and Boyd headed back to Glasgow.
Now, as they sort through offers for new projects, the onetime Hobbits have a chance to reflect on post-LOTR life, the perils of prosthetic ears and being (almost) famous.

What was the most challenging thing about working on such a huge project?
Monaghan: Neither of us had worked on anything this big. It was a unique experience to have possession of a character for so long.
Boyd: It's an actor's dream. Not only in terms of being able to show the characters maturing over a year but playing such a huge range of scenes, from largely comic to very emotional. In the beginning, our characters are just boys. They're living it up--going to parties or fishing, running through a field stealing carrots from Farmer Maggot. They have no idea what's in front of them, what ordeals they're going to face.
Monaghan: They're the Fonzies of the town. Everyone thinks they're cool--they're the Danny Zukos of the Shire.

You steal carrots?
Boyd: Yeah! [Laughs.] It's a funny scene, but it gave me another look into Pippin. Merry and Pippin meet in a field way out of Hobbiton, which would be like Dom and I meeting up in Paris. But Pippin's like, "Hi, how are ya?" when most people would be surprised or shocked. That intrigues me about the Hobbits--their ability to just let the world wash over them.
Monaghan: As soon as the Hobbits leave the Shire, they're constantly in a life-threatening situation, until they get to a safe place like Rivendell. They go through incredible risks, but they always remain positive. Tolkien wrote that if you saw a Hobbit five minutes after a terrible tragedy, you wouldn't know because they don't let things affect them. Trouble.
Boyd: We have each other, too. Merry's the one who gets Pippin into trouble. Monaghan: That's just the kind of thing Pippin would say. That's my Billy. He's so charming--it's like he can do no wrong.

How do Merry and Pippin--and the two of you as actors--cope when split up?
Boyd: Even before filming, we were all together--training at the gym, swordfighting, in canoes or just just hanging out. Then Billy and I got split up, which mirrors Merry and Pippin being separated. It was weird.
Monaghan: But it meant that for every scene we filmed and every emotion we portrayed, we were able to draw from real things.
Boyd: They're so close; it's like one completes a side of the other's personality. Then they get split up, and both of them go through hell. That's one of the most interesting things to explore as an actor--to see a character separated from all the people he trusts and relies on, then to be put back together again.

How does their relationship change?
Monaghan: I think there's a bond between them, because they know how much the Fellowship went through to save the Shire. But I don't think Merry ever talks to Pippin about what he has been through because it's so terrible. Merry is directly confronted with death, and it scars him. He sees people die--people he loves and cares for and tries to protect.
Boyd: Pippin's the same when the Fellowship loses Gandalf at Moria. Gandalf's almost like a God to Pippin. I suppose it would be like losing a parent when you're very young.
Monaghan: The final movie is going to break people's hearts. All the Fellowship are crushed, chewed up and ultimately spat out the other side. They're scarred forever by their journey.

What do they learn from the experience?
Boyd: At the beginning, the Hobbits are naive. They live in their own country, which is like a paradise, and they don't have much interest in the outside world. But they get thrown into this quest and do 20 years of growing up in 13 months away from the Shire. They find there's evil as well as good. It's like the young men who went off to WWII or Vietnam--they're not the same when they return.
Monaghan: They develop an inner strength, which is infinitely stronger than how good they are as warriors. Hobbits are never really competent with swords. They're not great horsemen, but they rely on their Hobbitness--stealth, cunning and bravery.
Boyd: And they both fight in battles and prove their bravery. That's a big deal for these little people, who everyone underestimates.

As Hobbits, you had three hours of makeup and prosthetics every morning. How did you cope with the long hours?
Boyd: When we started with the prosthetics and makeup, it was funny, because we were all buzzing with excitement. Once we got used to it and knew that we didn't have to use so much energy, we became quieter. It would be three hours before you got your feet on, and there'd be a long day of filming after that, so we learned to save our energy.

Which scenes were the most challenging?
Monaghan: The Moria scenes were physically demanding. But some were easy, because they really happened. ike when the Hobbits were running away from the Black Rider, we were literally running from a guy on an eight-foot horse. You really are scared, and you really do run fast!

With such a long shooting time--almost 15 months--was it difficult filming out of sequence?
Boyd: That's always tricky, but in a way that helped us realize the parts better. We started off with a lot of battle scenes, like Amon Hen and battling Uruks and Orcs, and jumping onto Orc's backs and stabbing them, and then we came to Hobbiton. Doing the battle scenes really informed our view of Hobbiton--what the characters are going to go through, which is more than they know themselves. So, it really made us enjoy the Hobbiton scenes even more and think it's such an ideal place, almost a Utopia.
Monaghan: It's what they set out to protect. They're always thinking about it when they're away, because they realize how it's a place worth protecting.

What was your last day like?
Monaghan: Finishing was insane. It felt for a long time like we never would. We had a lot of "fake" finishes. Pete and Fran gave us champagne the last time all four Hobbits were together. Then came the final day. I was in the band at the wrap party, and the next day I was flying away for Christmas. Wild, wild, wild.
Boyd: I was never that good at reading schedules and didn't realize it was my last day until Peter announced it to the crew. It was only then that I realized the adventure was coming to an end.

Do you miss it?
Monaghan: I won't miss having to stand for two hours at 4:30 a.m. and have freezing cold glue applied to my feet. I won't miss two-hour drives to work or long, long, long days sitting in my trailer waiting...waiting...waiting. I won't miss one day off a week. I won't miss glue in my ears. But I would do it all again tomorrow.
Boyd: We'll always miss the friends we made, the closeness of a great cast and crew--and New Zealand, which is such a beautiful country.

Any interesting souvenirs from your time on set?
Monaghan: There's a limited-edition T-shirt made for nine of us who were surfers, known as the Black Riders.
Boyd: I'm excited about a pair of brass Hobbit feet I think Sean Astin has organized for the Hobbits. I'm sure the four of us will always be slightly Hobbitish when we get together.

What was it like working with Peter Jackson?
Boyd: He's prepared, he's enthusiastic and he's always going for the truth--to make it real--which is the way I like to work. It's such a long process, but Peter keeps it relaxed and friendly, which is conducive to good work.

You went through a lot of physical training for the roles and both grew a few shirt sizes. Will you keep that up?
Monaghan: One of the greatest things we did in New Zealand is learn to surf. Billy and Orlando [Bloom] and I were off surfing the Florida coastline three weeks after finishing the movie. It's just the ultimate escape. And I have to admit to being addicted to the gym and yoga now.
Boyd: I haven't been too good since getting home without the help and inspiration of our personal trainer. I now live the life of Peregrin Took--eating, lazing around and spending the odd evening in the Green Dragon.

by John Forde | March 1, 2001