Actress Michelle Monaghan shared the story of her two trips to Indonesia during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday (August 19). The Mission: Impossible trilogy star said her second visit happened because she missed seeing the Komodo dragons on her first trip.
Monaghan said her first trip to Indonesia was actually a family surfing holiday, shortly before she began filming her latest movie, The Whisper Man, with Robert De Niro.
While trying to find something to talk about on set, where both actors play detectives, Monaghan mentioned that she had just returned from Indonesia. De Niro then asked if she had seen the Komodo dragons.
“Did you see the dragons?” he asked, according to Monaghan. She said no and admitted she did not even know Komodo dragons lived in Indonesia until he asked.
“And I was like, oh my god, I've missed the dragons,” she recalled.
De Niro then suggested that Monaghan return to Indonesia specifically to see them. “Well, you've got to go back and see the dragons,” she recalled him saying.
After wrapping filming that day, she immediately went online to learn more about Komodo dragons and became even more convinced that she had to return after reading about the species.
So, a second family trip to Indonesia was arranged, with one reason she felt was more than enough: “Because Bob De Niro. That's the best reason.”
During her second visit, Monaghan was on a boat when she finally got a Wi-Fi signal and immediately sent De Niro a photo of herself with a Komodo dragon. He did not reply right away. It was only during lunch that her 12-year-old son noticed a message from De Niro on her phone.
“Amazing, but I must say I'm disappointed that you didn't take a picture riding on his back. Have fun. I'm Bob.”
Monaghan's decision to fly back to Indonesia just to see a Komodo dragon may sound amusing, but it is easy to understand why. The Komodo is not simply a giant lizard.
It is one of the most unique animals still living on Earth, and it inhabits one of Indonesia's most closely protected conservation areas.
The Largest Living Ancient Reptile
The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is the largest and heaviest living lizard in the world, reaching up to 3 meters in length. The largest recorded specimen measured 3.13 meters and weighed 166 kilograms with a full stomach, although adult Komodo dragons typically weigh around 70–90 kilograms. Males generally grow larger than females.
What makes the Komodo even more remarkable is its venom. Research published in 2009 confirmed that the species has venom glands in its lower jaws, producing compounds that act as anticoagulants and lower the blood pressure of its prey.
Unlike snakes, which inject venom through their fangs, Komodo dragons deliver venom through their bite, allowing it to enter the wound and gradually weaken their prey.
Another remarkable fact: female Komodo dragons can reproduce without a male through a process known as parthenogenesis. This was documented in captive Komodo dragons in the 2000s. Interestingly, all offspring produced through this process are male.
Home to Thousands of Komodo Dragons
Komodo National Park was first established in 1980 and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. The park encompasses three major islands, such as Komodo island, Rinca island, and Padar island, along with several smaller islands in the surrounding waters.
The wild Komodo population is estimated at around 5,700 individuals, distributed across Komodo island, Rinca, Gili Motong, and parts of the western and northern coast of Flores Island.
The area is also home to the Ata Modo, an Indigenous community whose oral traditions trace their ancestry on these islands back generations, long before contact with the outside world.
Today, Komodo Village on the island's eastern coast is home to around 1,800 people, including descendants of the Ata Modo as well as families from the Bajo, Bugis, and Manggarai communities who arrived later.
Growing Global Tourist Interest
Monaghan's visit comes amid a surge in the global popularity of Komodo National Park. In 2025, the park recorded 429,509 visits, with foreign tourists accounting for 68 percent, a figure four times higher than in 2019.
With visitor numbers rising sharply, the government introduced a daily cap of 1,000 visitors starting April 1, 2026, along with an online reservation system through the official SiOra app, in an effort to protect the Komodo dragon's habitat from the pressures of overtourism.
For Monaghan, the second trip clearly paid off. She described the Komodo dragon she encountered in the wild as “probably about 10 feet long,” and marveled at its wild and prehistoric appearance.
Her vacation story came amid the promotional campaign for her latest film, The Whisper Man, a crime thriller starring De Niro that premieres on Netflix on August 28, 2026.
