Elijah Wood

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23 Feb 2024

Elijah Wood

Elijah Wood, born on January 28, 1981, is an American actor and producer who gained international fame for his portrayal of Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Wood's acting career began with a small role in Back to the Future Part II . As a child actor, he gained recognition for his roles in films like Avalon , Paradise , Radio Flyer , Forever Young , The Adventures of Huck Finn , and The Good Son . During his teenage years, Wood starred in movies such as North , The War, Flipper , The Ice Storm , Deep Impact , and The Faculty.

Following the success of The Lord of the Rings, Wood diversified his filmography with roles in various genres. He appeared in films like Spy Kids 3D: Game Over , Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , Sin City, Green Street , Everything Is Illuminate , Paris, je t'aime , Bobby , Celeste and Jesse Forever , and I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore.

Wood has also lent his voice to characters in animated films and series, such as Mumble in the Happy Feet film franchise , the title character in , Spyro the Dragon in the Legend of Spyro video game trilogy , Beck in Disney XD's Tron: Uprising , and Wirt in the Cartoon Network miniseries Over the Garden Wall.

In addition to his acting career, Wood has been involved in various ventures. He founded the record label Simian Records in 2005, directed the music video Energy for The Apples in Stereo in 2007, and co-founded a film production company for horror films, initially named The Woodshed and later renamed SpectreVision in .

Wood is also a disc jockey and has toured globally as part of the duo Wooden Wisdom with his friend Zach Cowie.

Elijah Wood's career began with local commercials and modeling. He gained early recognition with his first break in Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl music video, directed by David Fincher. Following a minor role in Back to the Future Part II as a boy from futuristic 2015, Wood auditioned for Kindergarten Cop but was told his performance wasn't believable by director Ivan Reitman.

Wood's breakthrough came with the role of Aidan Quinn's son in Avalon, which received critical acclaim and four Academy Award nominations. He continued with a role in Richard Gere's Internal Affairs and featured in Paradise , bringing Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson's characters together. In 1992, he co-starred with Mel Gibson and Jamie Lee Curtis in Forever Young and with Joseph Mazzello in Radio Flyer.

In 1993, Wood played the title character in Disney's The Adventures of Huck Finn and starred alongside Macaulay Culkin in the psychological thriller The Good Son. The following year, he impressed in The War alongside Kevin Costner, earning high praise from Roger Ebert. His title role in North was followed by a Super Bowl commercial for Lay's Wavy potato chips.

Wood's diverse roles continued in 1995 with the lead in Flipper and a part in Ang Lee's critically acclaimed The Ice Storm. He guest-starred in an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street" in 1996. In 1997, he portrayed Jack The Artful Dodger Dawkins in a TV adaptation of Oliver Twist and had leading roles in the sci-fi disaster film "Deep Impact" and Robert Rodriguez's The Faculty.

In 1999, Wood played a suburban white teenager in James Toback's Black and White and a junior hitman in Chain of Fools. His career continued to evolve, showcasing his versatility as an actor.

Elijah Wood's career reached new heights when he played the iconic role of Frodo Baggins in the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, starting with the 2001 release of "The Fellowship of the Ring. Wood, a fan of J. R. R. Tolkien's book series, auditioned for the role by dressing as Frodo and reading lines from the novel. He secured the part, becoming the first actor cast in the trilogy, which was filmed in New Zealand over several years.

Wood's dedication to the role extended beyond the screen. Peter Jackson, the director, presented Wood with gifts, including one of the One Ring props used in the film, Frodo's sword Sting, and a pair of prosthetic "hobbit feet." The trilogy became a monumental success, propelling Wood to international fame.

In 2002, Wood lent his voice to The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina. The second part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, titled The Two Towers, was released later that year, with Wood continuing his role as Frodo. In 2003, he starred in the direct-to-video film All I Want and made a cameo appearance as 'The Guy' in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. The trilogy concluded with the release of The Return of the King in December 2003.

Following the success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Elijah Wood showcased his versatility as an actor with a variety of roles. In 2004, he starred in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as Patrick, an unscrupulous lab technician pursuing Kate Winslet.

The film received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2005. Wood then took on the role of the silent serial killer Kevin in Robert Rodriguez's adaptation of Frank Miller's comic book series, Sin City. His audition for the role was distinctive, involving staring at a film camera while passages from the graphic novel were read.

In Everything Is Illuminated , Wood portrayed a young Jewish-American man searching for the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II. The film, based on the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, received critical acclaim. Wood also played an American college student joining a violent British football firm in Green Street, which, despite limited release, earned critical praise.

In 2006, Wood had a small part in Paris, je t'aime, a film consisting of 18 five-minute sections, each directed by a different director. His section, titled Quartier de la Madeleine, was directed by Vincenzo Natali. Additionally, he provided the voice of Mumble, a tap-dancing penguin, in George Miller's animated musical Happy Feet .

The film received widespread acclaim, won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and grossed over $380 million worldwide. Wood reprised his role in the sequel, Happy Feet Two.

In 2006, he participated in Emilio Estevez's Bobby, a gripping drama depicting the events leading up to the June 5, 1968, shooting of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Within the movie, Wood enters into matrimony with Lindsay Lohan's character to evade the Vietnam War draft.

Bobby competed at the Venice Film Festival, earning Wood and his fellow cast members a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Following this, Wood took on the role of host in the Discovery Kids television special Saving a Species: The Great Penguin Rescue in 2006. This venture led to a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming.

Concurrently, it was revealed that Wood was slated to star in The Passenger, a biographical film centered around singer Iggy Pop. Unfortunately, the project languished in development and never materialized.

Delving into the realm of video games, Wood lent his voice to several projects, embodying Spyro the Dragon in the Legend of Spyro game trilogy and reprising Mumble in the game adaptation of Happy Feet .