LOTR Actor Amazed by GTA III in 2002
- Dominic Monaghan wasn't a big gamer growing up.
- His perspective changed after playing GTA III on PS2.
- Elijah Wood suggested he buy a PlayStation 2.
- GTA III's open-world design amazed Monaghan.
- Monaghan's favorite game is Skyrim, with 350 hours played.
News: GTA III BLEW THIS LORD OF THE RINGS ACTOR'S MIND BACK IN 2002
DOMINIC MONAGHAN WASN'T A BIG GAMER UNTIL HE GOT A PS2 AND SAW ROCKSTAR'S OPEN-WORLD CLASSIC
By Zack Zwiezen
Published Monday 3:10 PM
Actor Dominic Monaghan wasn't a big gamer growing up.
That all changed when he first played Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto III on PS2.
The open-world crime simulator basically blew his mind and revealed just how far games had come from Pac-Man.
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In a new interview with Gamespot, the Lost and Lord of The Rings star talked about his history with video games.
According to Monaghan, while he played some games from time to time as a kid, it wasn't something he cared much about.
He preferred to play outside or act on stage.
But then he moved to Los Angeles in 2002-2003, and a conversation with fellow Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood changed everything.
Monaghan said, "I said to my friend Elijah Wood—it sounds like I'm terribly name-dropping right now—I said I'm going to go buy a DVD player, you want to come with me?"
Elijah replied, "You should buy a PlayStation 2."
Monaghan agreed but initially planned to use it only to watch shows like The Sopranos and Oz.
But then a friend brought over a copy of Grand Theft Auto 3, Rockstar's incredibly popular and controversial open-world action game set in Liberty City.
According to Monaghan, he could not believe that games had gotten this advanced.
Monaghan explained, "I love little things about GTA 3, like you can steal any car as opposed to there are certain cars that show you that they're stealable."
He added, "I got really good, or I felt like I got really good at driving. You get to that point where everything starts to go really fast. I kind of enjoyed that."
He continued, "But I think GTA 3 was the big turnaround for me where I was like, 'Oh, I didn't realize that games have now got to this point.'"
The leap was just extraordinary, and the soundtrack was incredible.
All the options were incredible, said Monaghan.
Since then, he now includes games as part of his entertainment options alongside movies and TV shows.
As for the most recent entry in the franchise, 2013's GTA V, Monaghan has played the game and enjoyed it.
Even if he felt like Michael, one of the three main playable characters in that installment, was a bit obnoxious.
He also sometimes enjoyed playing as Trevor but admitted that he sometimes felt dirty after stepping into the lunatic's shoes, saying he felt like he needed a shower afterward.
As for his all-time favorite gaming experience, it's not GTA 3 but instead The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
According to Monaghan, he put around 350 hours into the massive open-world RPG on PS3.
In fact, he played it so much that his console exploded at one point because it overheated.
