Dominic PURCELL

Purcell was born in Wallasey, Merseyside, England in 1970( February 17 ) , 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 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 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. 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.

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

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.

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