B.L. Did you guys get totally into character?
B.B. Pretty much. It took a lot to take on the Hobbit way of life, which I think is a good thing, because I think Tolkien wrote the Hobbits as being honorable and good people. So I think if you take some of their characteristics I think it's a good thing.
D.M. They are big beer drinkers as well.
B.B. Big beer drinkers.
D.M. Mmmm.

B.L. So this is the third and final film, how do you feel now that it's all coming to an end?
B.B. How do you feel, you must be running out of questions!
D.M. (to Billy) How do you feel?
B.B. Just hungry. It'll be lunch soon.
D.M. There have been so many ends to this film, the end of principal photography, and the last time you do that line, the last time you do a premiere. I don't think the end can truly be realized. If this is the end then what is behind it, and what's behind what's stopping it. We're going to go from here in December on this tour. I think that might be a little bit more poignant because it will be the last time we're on the tour together. But the things that you take from the film, that you keep alive, and the mates that you make; that's going to continue.

B.L. You've gone on some great trips.
B.B. Like you wouldn't believe. Last year we went to the Lake District, and then I went to Berlin. Year before that we went to India, year before that Blackpool. And that's one good thing about these junket tours; you get to travel around to places like Toronto.

B.L. You guys have fun there?
D.M. Yeah. We have fun pretty much everywhere we go.
B.B. Do you ever get confused when in one city and you think you're in another city? I felt that in New York the other day, I thought I was in Toronto. I was like "Where was that restaurant we were at?" Then I remembered it was in Toronto. You won't find that here!
D.M. While on a junket in Paris last year, I woke up one morning and had no idea where I was. I had to look up the hotel directory to figure it out.
B.B. Who was in bed with you?
D.M. Your girl. [laughs]

B.L. Everyone says that this is the best one.
D.M. They're bound to say that. They can't say "this is nearly as good as the first!" But seriously, this is the accumulation of everyone's stories; it's the end.
B.B. There are a lot of payoffs in this movie. Like Merry and Pippin's friendship. You watch that friendship through two movies and then it breaks up. So there is a lot of emotional payoffs. I honestly think that this one will be everyone's favorite.
D.M. I agree.
B.B. Good.

B.L. How beneficial has it been that you two bonded so well?
D.M. I think we would have bonded even if we didn't get along. It's like spending four years on a desert island with someone. If you hate that guy, whether you like it or not you went through that experience with that person and you are bonded to him. But Billy and I were lucky enough to get to know each other quite quickly. When I first met Billy I had just arrived in New Zealand. I was the last Hobbit to arrive and I was sent to meet Billy and Elijah [Wood], who were getting costumes fitted. When I came in there were no handshakes, just hugs. I was kind of freaked out, but it was just what I needed. Billy and I went to this place in Wellington that served coffee and sandwiches and we just sat down and talked about how amazing it was to be in New Zealand. And that was all we needed.

B.L. How much time do you spend together now?
D.M. Well Billy lives in Glasgow and I live in L.A. so we're kind of away from each other, but Billy is in L.A. quite a bit. We're going to spend Christmas and New Year's together. So we hang out a lot.

B.L. You guys are separated in this film. So you, Dominic, went into battle; how was that?
D.M. That was great. It was such a nice thing to see a character really develop that way. And my character really starts to go down the other side of the hill. I start to crumble and destroy myself. It was something I was looking forward to because watching Viggo [Mortensen] and Orlando [Bloom] getting their hands dirty - like Merry, I was like, "well I want to do it!" But I wanted to make him unrecognizable from the Merry you knew from the first two films. He's wearing different clothes, his hair's longer, and his facial expressions are different. Being away from Pippin is so huge for him that he holds that in his demeanor. He feels that loss. And he's so close to death; he's with an army that is basically going to commit suicide. So Merry accepts he is going to die and he's going to do it for Frodo and Pippin and his friends.

B.L. And working with Miranda Otto?
D.M. Working with Miranda is fantastic. I think Eowyn and Merry are on the same path. They are both resigned to the fact that this thing has taken hold and there is nothing they can do. They are both on the front line and they're both scared, but they both desperately want to prove that they can contribute. With Eowyn I think it is more of a death wish. I think she is willing to die to prove to her father and her people that she is strong. And Merry is willing to die, but he's doing it for his friends and his Shire. He tries to appeal to her in the third film, he basically says that I believe in you and I think you are strong and you are great and you have so much to give in life but not in death. I think he starts to turn her around and she thinks, "Well maybe I can make it through this battle and stay alive to take care of the people of Rohan."

B.L. How does Pippin change in this film?
B.B. He changes clothes for the first time in a year and a half, which is nice.
D.M. No more smelly Pippin.
B.B. He's taken to Gondor by Gandalf because Sauron thinks he has the ring, and he's in real danger. There he meets the Steward, Denethor, who is Boromir's father and who is slightly mad. He makes Pippin a knight of Gondor, so this Hobbit of the Shire is suddenly a knight of Gondor, which is a very weird situation for Pippin to be in. So he then has jobs to do as a knight, and it's basically looking at war through this. He's done a lot of growing up since meeting the Ents and spending the time with Merry, and he proves to himself that he is of use and does a lot of heroic things. He does them for the same reason as Merry; he's not trying to be a hero or save the world, he just wants to get back to the Shire with his friends. So he accidentally becomes a hero.

B.L. Tell us about some of the juicy stuff that you did?
D.M. Well we worked really hard and felt we deserved to enjoy ourselves on the weekend. There were no fights; no physical fights between anyone, which was quite good because there were lots of men, lots of testosterone. Very few women.

B.L. Who impressed you most in the cast and why?
D.M. I think it was like that with a lot of actors. That was one of the great things about the third movie. Because we were all separated, instead of the Fellowship where you see everyone's work, in the third film you think "Wow, Elijah, that was great work, and Orlando and Bill and Viggo." You're impressed with everyone's work, because at that time everyone is working so hard.

B.L. How about Viggo. Why was he the perfect actor to play Aragorn?
D.M. I don't think he's the perfect actor for the role.
B.B. I think you are (to Dominic).
D.M. I think Viggo has a lot of qualities of Aragorn. He completely commits to what he's doing, which is what Aragorn eventually does too. He was a great leader for the actors, especially for some of the young guys. I know that Orlando had a really great time with Viggo. He just really commits 100%. He has a lot of fun and there's always something going on around Viggo.
B.B. Like flies?
D.M. Yes, he doesn't shower. But at the end of every day there was always some kind of party going on in one of our trailers where we have drinks, hang out, chat. And he was a great guy for bringing together the camaraderie and reminding us it was a group effort. He kind of led by example, which is what Aragorn does.

B.L. How are you guys handling people, especially kids that come up to you in the street?
D.M. I carry a bathroom plunger... No it's great. I mean the great thing about being a Hobbit, especially, is that it's such a positive, nice, friendly, open character to play that people find you very approachable. Which I think Billy and I are, and Sean and Elijah. So the reaction is always very genuine. I think with Viggo or Ian, they're held in a bit more high regard whereas we are more like point men.

B.L. With action figures and the movies, this is like a life-changing thing for you.
B.B. It doesn't seem real, it doesn't seem like it's actually happening to you. You know the idea of having an action figure was a lot weirder than actually having one. Now that they are actually there it doesn't seem real, it doesn't seem like it's me. When I see it in a shop window, there's like nodding head Hobbits and bath towels...

B.L. Do you have any of those?
B.B. I do have the bath towels because I like to enclose myself in myself. It's like having a hug from me.
D.M. Which is one of his greatest fantasies in the world.
B.B. Exactly Dominic, exactly.

B.L. How has this affected your social lives, like in your relationships?
B.B. Women want us.
D.M. Yes, women will approach you.
B.B. Plunger, get the plunger.
D.M. I enjoy being approached by women I have to admit. I've very much embraced that and taken the bull by its horns.
B.B. I've seen you do that.
D.M. There was a bull, remember that night?
B.B. What a night that was!
D.M. You just have to embrace the fact that that is how it is going to be now. But we are quite disarming when people come over, especially if someone is like freaked out by the fact that they are meeting you. I spend as much time with them reminding them that we are just normal people trying to do a job and enjoying ourselves, and I think that is really important. Instead of going "Hey how are you?" I like to say, "Hey how are you doing, what's your name?" and push it more onto them. You do get those kind of weird shaky people, I like them. And when you hold them they're always kind of hot.
B.B. [laughs] Really?
B.L. And there are people just obsessed with these movies.
B.B. I thought it would be boys, but it's not. It's mainly young girls that are obsessed with these movies. Much more girls than boys. (To Dominic) I would approach you if I were a little girl. I'd be all shaky and hot. I'd give you a lollipop.
D.M. It's kind of freaky. Because there is a part of your brain thinking, "How do I know know this person is meeting me because they want to meet me, or is it just because I'm from the films? Are they wondering 'How many steps to Elijah Wood from Dominic Monaghan?'"

B.L. (to Billy Boyd) You also have Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World out. What was it like to work on that and set sail with Russell Crowe?
B.B. He was really cool. I had a great time on that film. I was in Mexico for six months and we all took up surfing while we were in New Zealand so I managed to get a house that was next to a surf break. Which meant these guys basically spent their whole summer just surfing. It's going to be a great film I think. Peter Weir has taken an action film, but given than he's actually followed the characters and their friendship. What did they do for the three months when they were just sailing around? And looking at life for these Royal Navy guys during the Napoleonic times, it's really interesting. Russell was great. I played the helmsman, so I was up on quarterdeck quite a lot with him. Russell is a great actor and a lovely guy. We both play music so we jammed a few times.

B.L. What's up next for you Billy?
B.B. A British romantic comedy.

B.L. What about you Dominic?
D.M. I have a lot of things. I'm really interested in working for the Discovery channel. I'm going to try and present some programs about animals that I am really interested in.
B.B. Bees.
D.M. We're not going to get into this conversation again. I'm friends with a lot of people in Greenpeace, and I've been trying to get involved with nature programs because they were one of the greatest influences in my youth. So I'm going to try to get to Madagascar in the early part of next year, and Tahiti and the Arctic. Take a crew and make a documentary, talk about what's happening in the world. And kiss your beautiful face (to Billy).
B.B. don't you dare. And don't forget about our movie.
D.M. Yes, we are trying to do our movie next year. Billy has a friend who is a great playwright who has offered to come in and collaborate with us on this script, which is in an unorganized fashion. Brilliant but unorganized.