DEDICATED Dominic Monaghan took method acting to extremes for his role in the final episode of Monsignor Renard.
During his preparation for several emotion-charged scenes opposite John Thaw, he pushed himself to the limit to get into the part.
In tomorrow night's drama on ITV, Dominic, who plays rebellious teenager Etienne, can't come to terms with the German invasion of his native France.
After causing problems for the Nazis, he takes refuge in Renard's presbytery.
When soldiers burst in to arrest him, he knocks one of them to the ground.
A defiant Etienne is put in front of a military tribunal... and the results are disastrous.
Before the crucial scenes were filmed, Dominic deliberately cut down on his sleeping time.
He explained: "I made sure I only got three or four hours sleep the night before the filming.
"I wanted to make sure I would be more emotionally unstable and wound up, because I was over-tired.
"I also brought along a few things that upset me, like an emotional letter my grandmother once wrote to me.
"I have to really lose it in the final episode, so I thought that by doing things like that it would be a help."
Despite his rather bizarre approach to acting, Dominic has thoroughly enjoyed playing the doomed Etienne.
If nothing else, the part gave him the opportunity to appear alongside Thaw, one of his television heroes.
Dominic revealed: "When I first met John I was a little overawed. Here was a man who'd been on TV in my living room for years in programmes like Inspector Morse and The Sweeney.
"But I just had to get on with it. To tell you the truth, the enormity of some of the tricky scenes I was involved in was so great, I was more nervous about getting them right than about worrying about who I was acting with."
In the final episode of Monsignor Renard, the inhabitants of St-Josse- des-Bois begin to realise the full impact of the German occupation.
Following the brutal attack on Helene, her mother realises the girl is pregnant and seeks Renard's help.
Later, the townspeople gather to watch newsreels in their cinema. But Etienne is thrown out by German soldiers for being unruly.
He takes revenge by driving through the town in a van, music blaring. And they go searching for him.
Dominic said: "Etienne has been an interesting character to play because he is transformed more than any other person in the drama.
"At the start, he's an ordinary young man with everyday problems. But, by the end, he's like a rabid dog who has been let off the leash.
"It is by far my most challenging role to date."
But Dominic's latest part could overshadow that. The actor is currently in New Zealand working on the film version of Lord Of The Rings, with Ian McKellen and Sean Bean.
And the actor is hoping he'll really measure up in the role... for his character stands only two and a half feet tall.
Dominic said: "I'm playing one of the hobbits. I don't know if it's something to do with my personality, but I always seem to get cast as cheeky characters.
"I've got to wear a wig, kneel down so that I'm only two feet six inches tall and learn how to ride a horse.
"So you could say it's a real step into the unknown."
By Billy Sloan | 16 April 2000
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Dominic interview about Monsignor Renard