Dominic Haakon Myrtvedt Purcell
born;17 February 1970
Merseyside, England, United Kingdom
Early life
Purcell was born in Merseyside, England and the eldest of five children. He moved to Sydney with his family when he was two, where he was raised by his father, who was British born but of Norwegian and Irish-American ancestry, 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. Purcell's paternal grandfather, Haakon, was from Bergen, and his paternal grandmother, Martha, was a New York-born Irish-American according to herself, her family and her birth certificate.[citation needed] His middle name Haakon and his other surname Myrtvedt are both Norwegian.
After quitting his high school education at Blaxland High School, Purcell was employed as a landscaper.
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. 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).
On 21 October 2007, Purcell and his wife Rebecca Williamson separated.
In 2006 and 2007 Purcell spent the Christmas period in Louth Village, Co. Louth, in Ireland, the home of his mother which drew considerable attention in the local press. He appeared on the talk show Tubridy Tonight during his stay in 2008; his charisma even made the show's host, Ryan Tubridy, look good, an emmense achievement which must rank among Purcell's most impressive. 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 lady carrying a choking baby. 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.
