Dominic Haakon Myrtvedt Purcell was born on 17 February 1970, in Wallasey, Cheshire, England, to mother Maureen Purcell, of Irish descent, and father Phil Myrtvedt, of Norwegian descent. He is an Australian actor, probably best known for his roles in the television series “Prison Break”, “John Doe” and “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”, and the film “Blade: Trinity”.
A famous actor, how rich is Dominic Purcell? Sources state that Purcell has acquired a net worth of over $2 million as of mid-2016, established during his acting career.
Dominic Purcell Net Worth $2 Million
Purcell is the oldest of five siblings. When he was two years old his family moved to Bondi, New South Wales, and later to Western Sydney. He was educated at Blaxland East Public School then Blaxland High School, and also attended St Dominic’s College and McCarthy Catholic College in New South Wales. However, he left school to start a business as a landscape gardener. Getting tired of working as a landscaper, Purcell decided to pursue a career in acting, being inspired by Oliver Stone’s film “Platoon”. He subsequently attended the Australian Theatre for Young People in Sydney, and later enrolled in the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Perth, where he became a classmate of Hugh Jackman.
After his graduation in 1996, Purcell landed a role in the Australian television series “Raw FM” in 1997. Several other TV appearances followed, such as in the series “Moby Dick”, “Water Rats” and “Heartbreak High”, and the TV films “Silent Predators” and “First Daughter”.
His breakthrough role came with the 2000 Tom Cruise action film “Mission: Impossible 2”, which was partly filmed in Australia. The same year he won a green card lottery. and moved to the USA to live in Los Angeles. In 2002 he appeared as Seamus in the science fiction cult film “Equilibrium”; even though Purcell’s parts in the two films were minor ones, his talent was recognized, which enabled him to take the title role in the Fox science fiction drama “John Doe” in 2002, as a man with an expert knowledge who is able to help the authorities in crime investigations, but has no memory of who he is. The series, which lasted only one season, still added greatly to Purcell’s net worth. It also led him to his role of Dracula in the final film in the Blade series, “Blade: Trinity” in 2004. The same year he starred in the film “Three Way”, as Lew Brookbank. His popularity reached a higher level and his wealth was boosted.
After his mainstream break, in 2005 Purcell was cast as one of the stars of the Fox hit television series “Prison Break”, playing the role of the wrongly accused Lincoln Burrows. The series lasted for four seasons from 2005 to 2009, and became an instant hit among audiences worldwide, and achieved massive success at the box office. He continued with the role in the 2009 TV film “Prison Break: The Final Break”, and his performance shot him to fame and brought him an Australian Film Institute Award in 2009 for Best International Actor. It significantly improved his net worth.
Purcell subsequently landed roles in various feature films, such as “The Gravedancers”, “Blood Creek”, “Straw Dogs”, “Killer Elite”, “House of the Rising Sun”, “Officer Down”, “Breakout”, “Vikingdom”, “Ice Soldiers”, “In the Name of King 3” and many other. He also appeared in the television series “Castle”, “Common Law” and “Flash”. All added to his wealth.
His most recent appearances have been in the 2015 films “Gridlocked” and “Isolation”. He currently stars in the action-adventure series “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”, and is filming the “Prison Break” sequel series.
Speaking about his private life, Purcell was married to Rebecca Williamson from 1998 to 2008, and they have four children together. As of 2011, he has been in a relationship with former “90210” star AnnaLynne McCord. In 2015 the actor was diagnosed with and treated for skin cancer. The following year he suffered serious head injuries while filming “Prison Break” in Morocco, and is currently recovering.
