Dominic Purcell

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Dominic Purcell
Born	February 17, 1970 (age 37) Merseyside, England, England
Spouse(s)	Rebecca Williamson
Notable roles	"John Doe" in John Doe "Lincoln Burrows" in Prison Break

Dominic Haakon Myrtvedt Purcell^[1] (born on February 17, 1970) is a British actor of Norwegian-Irish parentage most active in the United States. He is best known for his roles as John Doe on the Fox television series John Doe and as Lincoln Burrows on Prison Break.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Career 1.3 Personal life 2 Filmography 3 Notes 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Purcell was born in Merseyside, England in 1970, the eldest of five children, he moved to Sydney, Australia with his family when he was two, where he was raised by his father and Irish mother, Maureen, in the Western Suburbs. Purcell's Norwegian father 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 was from Bergen, and his paternal grandmother a New York-born Irish-American. His middle name Haakon and his other surname Myrtvedt are both Norwegian.

After quitting his high school education, Purcell was employed as a landscaper.^[2] 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 to the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and was accepted. There, 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.

[edit] Career

After relocating to the United States in 2000, Purcell debuted on American television as the title character in John Doe in 2002. He first got his 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.

He currently has a starring role as Lincoln Burrows in the Fox network television drama series, Prison Break.

[edit] Personal life

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

In 2006 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]

[edit] Filmography

Year'	Title	Role	Notes
2007	Town Creek	Victor Marshall
2007	Level Seven	Millar
2007	Primeval	Tim Freeman
2005 - present	Prison Break	Lincoln Burrows	TV series
2005	The Gravedancers	Harris McKay
2005	North Shore	Tommy Ravetto	TV episodes: 1x16-1x20
2004	House	Ed Snow	TV episode: 1x07
2004	Blade: Trinity	Drake
2003	3-way	Lew
2003	Visitors	Luke
2002 - 2003	John Doe	John Doe	TV series
2002	Equilibrium	Seamus
2001	Invincible	Keith Grady	TV movie
2001	BeastMaster	Kelb	TV episodes: 3x01-3x04, 3x06
2001	The Lost World	Condillac	TV episode: 3x02
2000	Mission: Impossible II	Ulrich
1999	Heartbreak High	Todd Gillespie	TV episodes: 7x38-7x40
1999	First Daughter	Troy Nelson	TV movie
1999	Silent Predator	Truck Driver	TV movie
1998	Water Rats	Alex	TV episodes: 3x12-3x13
1998	Moby Dick	Bulkington	TV mini-series
1997 -1998	Raw FM	Granger Hutton	TV series

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

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

[edit] External links

• Dominic Purcell at the Internet Movie Database
• Dominic Purcell at TV.com
• Dominic Purcell's biography at Prison Break's official site