Dominic Haakon Myrtvedt Purcell^[1] (born 17 February 1970) is a British-born Australian actor, most active in the United States. He also holds an Irish passport by means of his ancestry. He is best known for his roles as the title character in John Doe and as Lincoln Burrows in Prison Break.

Biography

Early life

Purcell was born in Wallasey, Merseyside, England, the eldest of five children. He moved to Sydney with his family when he was two, where he was raised by his father and Irish mother, Maureen, in the Western Suburbs. Purcell attended Blaxland High School. Purcell's father, who had previously served in the Norwegian Merchant Navy, installed air-conditioning ducts for a living, but later separated from the family.^[1] Purcell's paternal grandfather, Haakon, was from Bergen, and his paternal grandmother, Martha, a New York-born Irish-American according to herself, her family and her birth certificate. His middle name Haakon and his other surname Myrtvedt are both Norwegian.

After quitting his high school education at Blaxland High, Purcell was employed as a landscaper.^[2]

Career

Although he never contemplated being an actor, and thought that "people in the arts - actors, ballet dancers, musicians, whatever - were weird", he decided to try "that acting thing" on impulse.^[1] He applied and was accepted to the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) where Purcell studied alongside fellow actors, Hugh Jackman and Frances O'Connor. After graduating in 1996, Purcell obtained his first acting role as Granger Hutton, a leading role in the Australian television series Raw FM.

After relocating to the United States, Purcell debuted on American television as the title character in John Doe in 2002. He got his first big break into mainstream stardom when he played the character of Drake in Blade: Trinity. Purcell's theatre credits include Antony and Cleopatra, Angels in America, Romeo and Juliet and The Pillars of Society.

Purcell currently has a starring role as Lincoln Burrows in the Fox network television drama series, Prison Break. He also guest-starred in a first season episode of House, "Fidelity".

Personal life

In 2000, he won a green card lottery and resided in Los Angeles, California with his wife, Rebecca Williamson (from whom he is now divorced), and their four children: Joseph (b. 1999), Audrey (b. 2001), and twins Lily and Augustus (b. 2003).

In 2006 and 2007 Purcell spent the Christmas period in Louth Village, Co. Louth, in Ireland, the home area of his mother and drew considerable attention in the local press.^[3] On 21 October 2007, Purcell and his wife Rebecca Williamson separated.^[4]

On December 29, 2007 while driving to Strandhill, Co Sligo on Ireland's Atlantic coast to go surfing, Purcell and his brother Damien were waved down by a woman carrying a child, who was choking to death. They saved the child's life by performing CPR until the paramedics arrived. The sixteen month old baby - who made a full recovery - was choking after an onion ring became lodged in his throat.

Filmography

References

• O'connor, Brian, "Break Out". Men's Fitness. December/January 2007 Issue. Retrieved on 18 December 2006.

External links

• Dominic Purcell's biography at Prison Breaks official site

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