In what marks his first major TV gig since Lost, Dominic Monaghan has signed on to guest-star on NBC’s Chuck as — stop me if this sounds familiar — a free-spirited British rock star targeted for death by a shadowy group of evildoers. And the similarities to his Lost alter ego Charlie don’t end there. Well, actually, yes, they do. “This is a very, very different kind of character,” insists executive producer Josh Schwartz of Monaghan’s metalhead, who makes an in-store appearance at Buy More and ends up getting entangled in one of Chuck’s spy games. “He’s a lunatic in the best sense of the word. And there’s no heroin [addiction].” Monaghan’s participation is only half the Feb. 2 episode’s sell: It also will air partly in 3-D, piggybacking on NBC’s 3-D Super Bowl stunt. (The network will broadcast the big game the night before.) Aside from the cool factor of seeing himself in 3-D, what drew Monaghan to the role? Did he have any hesitation about channeling someone who, at least on paper, so closely resembles Charlie? And might his tube return be the precursor to another Lost comeback? Hmmm….Sounds like the set-up to an exclusive Q&A with Dominic Monaghan. Scratch that. It is the set-up to an exclusive Q&A with Dominic Monaghan.
