Dominic Purcell proves with each appearance on TV screens that he is one of the most charismatic actors worldwide.
Although he plays typical American characters, Dominic is in fact from Australia.
The most recognizable role of this actor is the role of Lincoln Burrows in the hit television show “Prison Break”.
He played as Mick Rory in The CW’s “The Flash”, where he transferred the role of the protagonist to the television series “Legends of Tomorrow”, where he had the role of a superhero.
Because of his height and construction, Dominic Purcell plays a lot of “tough guys” characters in most of his film and television roles, but this actor is often described as “drag” as well.
However, what the majority doesn’t know is that Dominic’s real personality is very different from the characters he plays and what we see on screens.
Although he has achieved success in his career and fame, the actor does not want to expose himself, so that those who are close to him know Dominic is a very modest person with a lovely personality.
Early Life
Dominic Haakon Myrtedt Purcell was born to parents Phil Mirtvedt and Maureen Purcell (Hasset) on February 17, 1970, in Wallasey, Great Britain.
His father was from Norway, with traces of French descent, while his mother had Irish roots. Dominic holds triple citizenship – British-Irish-Australian.
He has three brothers (Damian, Patrick, Jamie) and one sister (Marie-Therese).
Two years after his birth, more precisely in 1972, Dominic’s family decided to move to Bondi, New South Wales in Australia, and they moved one more time afterward – to Western Sydney (after his parents divorced).
Dominic remembers days when the family moved to an apartment near Bondi beach and the beautiful view of the ocean and sunrises.
He loved to spend his time in the ocean, and when he was about the age of 6, he saw some surfers on the beach.
Six years old Dominic saw them standing on waves, which made him impressed with their courage, and, of course, he wanted to try to do the same thing. Dominic is a passionate surfer.
Just as we mentioned above, Dominic’s parents went through a divorce, and that is the reason why he had to move away to the western suburbs of Sydney.
That is when he stopped surfing, as the beach was too far away, but Dominic found another passion with time.
His education began from public school at Blaxland East Public School, and Dominic later transferred to a high school in Blaxland.
Later he went to St. Dominic College, a college for Catholic boys, as well as Catholic McCarty College at Emu Plains.
However, Dominic’s education did not end at McCarthy Catholic College, as this actor joined the Australian Youth Theater in Sydney, thereby improving his knowledge.
Dominick introduced himself to Hugh Jackman then, and the two became friends.
Jackman is an Australian actor best known for his role as Wolverine in hit series “X Men”.
Interestingly, Dominic mentioned in a couple of his interviews that he never wanted to be an actor.
His childhood dream was to play cricket, while he likes landscaping as well, but acting – not at all.
However, as Dominic’s girlfriend was a model, he was fooling around the casting room, waiting to pick her up, when the casting lady saw him.
She said they were needing a face just like his for a commercial, and Dominic accepted the job, of which he made a ton of money in that time.
However, Dominic thought he was always bad at acting, which brought him back to landscaping.
Yet, getting into the Australian Youth Theater in Sydney, which is one of the best drama schools in Australia, made Dominic make up his mind and choose an acting career.
After all, the friendship with Hugh Jackman also contributed to Dominic’s striving for a movie career.
Career Development
Watching Oliver Stone’s Platoon made Dominic explore acting as a profession even more.
This movie made him realize acting could be something he would make a good living of.
Dominic began his career in the TV series, Home and Away, where he played the character of Constable Rogers. This show was his acting debut.
Thanks to “Home and Away”, Dominic captured the hearts of millions of people, and it encouraged him to perform in other series.
Some of the most famous TV series in which Dominic appeared are Prison Break, Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Water Rats, Invincible, Castel, and many more.
Sometime later, Dominic debuted in the Tom Cruise flick Mission: Impossible 2 from 2000, in which he played the character of Ulrich.
This was a minor role, shot partly in Australia, but it still gained him some fame.
However, Mission: Impossible 2 gave Dominic a chance to pop up on the big screen in Blade: Trinity.
Then he got a role on the soap North Shore, which brought him to one of his most famous characters and the role in Prison Break in 2005.
Then, two years later, in 2007, Dominic got an award – International Award for Best Actor on Australian Film Institute Awards.
He was also included in films such as Isolation, Abandoned, Bag Man Breakout, Hijacked, Blade, Escapee, Scene of the Crime, Trinity, and a lot more.
Although he has a career as an actor, Dominic Purcell is the producer as well.
He started his producing career in 2004, when he produced three movies, followed by Balibo from 2009 (with Anthony LaPaglia), I choose 2014, Isolation 2015, and Prison Break (fifth season) in 2017.
In his career, this Australian- British actor Dominic Purcell earns a fair amount of money.
He appeared in several films where he earned more than a solid sum.
The current net worth of this actor is about $ 2 million.
Personal Life
Dominic Purcell is supposedly single at the moment. He was married to Rebecca Williamson, a film producer.
Dominic and Rebecca met in August 1997, and married one year later, on August 1, 1998.
The couple lived together for 10 years, but they divorced on October 21, 2008.
They share 4 adorable children from this marriage – Joseph, Audrey, Lily-Rose, and Augustus.
Until 2014, Dominic had been in a long-standing relationship with the star AnnaLynne McCord. They began dating in 2011.
AnnaLynne is an actress, former model, and activist best known for her roles in The O.C, limited-run serial American Heiress, and was cast in the series 90210, where she played a role of Naomi Clark.
This couple has some ups and downs during this relationship, which means they were on and off.
Altogether, they have been together for three years before the official break up.
However, as destiny knows how to play its cards, Dominic and AnnaLynne restored their relationship once again.
Actually, the reason for this was the fact Dominic was diagnosed with skin cancer a year after the couple split up in 2014.
This was the case of Basel cell carcinoma, and the cell was found on his nose.
When Dominic was a child, people weren’t so aware of skin cancer, and he was exposed to it a lot, which further triggered cancer.
Dominic never wore sunblock, while now he is doing his best to avoid the sun.
He always wears a t-shirt in the summer and puts loads of zinc on his face to prevent the disease from coming back.
Anna decided to approach Dominic as a friend and wanted to support Dominica because he was in a difficult period of life.
However, as things usually happen in that case, they discovered that they still have feelings for each other and begin dating again.
This all lasted until January 2018, when they split again, although no one can guarantee that this interruption is definitive precisely because both of them decided to remain friends.
There is information that, before love with AnnaLynne McCord, Dominic was in a relationship with the American actress and model, Brooke Burns.
Their relationship lasted for a couple of months, from April to June.
Brooke is mostly known for her roles in Baywatch, Out of the Blue, North Shore and Baywatch: Hawaii. While filming, Dominic had several injuries.
While he was on the shooting of the Prison Break 5 season, he made his shot, but then an iron bar fell on his head and he was transferred from Marrakesh to Casablanca immediately.
He was taken to emergency treatment because he had a nose fracture in four places and a couple of more injuries.
While visiting his family on the northwest coast of Ireland, Dominic saved an 18-month-old baby in 2008.
Dominic and his brother were up for the waves, but there were no waves on the west coast, so they headed towards Dublin.
Suddenly, they noticed a man freaking out and running in circles, which made them slam the brakes and jump out of the car.
The baby was choking with food, and Dominic held it upside down and gave it a big whack on the back. Dominic Purcell seems to be in a great form.
He has the solid height for a man – 1.88 m and weighs 87 kg.
His current workout plan remained a secret, but judging from his physical appearance, we can say that Dominic is making an effort to stay in a good shape because he goes to the gym on regular basis.
Since this actor plays most of the superheroes on television, he needs the condition to keep his body in shape, so looking good is a requirement for Dominic.
Quick Summary
Full Name: Dominic Haakon Myrtedt Purcell
Date of Birth: February 17, 1970
Birthplace: Wallassey, Great Britain
Age: 49
Profession: Actor and Producer
Height: 1.88m
Weight: 87kg
Net Worth: $2 million