:: Home :: Files :: Movies :: Gallery :: Humor :: Misc :: Links ::

Elijah Wood

Elijah Jordan Wood was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on January 28th, 1981. His parents are Warren and Debbie Wood, and he has an older brother (Zack) and a younger sister (Hannah.).

At a young age, his mother took him to Los Angeles for an International Modeling and Talent Association Convention, and it wasn’t long before Elijah had landed himself an acting job. He won roles in both commercials and television, and got his first major part in the 1990 film Avalon. His career took off, and he appeared in films such as Paradise, Radio Flyer, Forever Young, The Good Son, North, and the 1996 film remake of Flipper. Other films following include The Faculty and Deep Impact, both in 1998.

Elijah enjoys many hobbies, including reading, photography, fencing, surfing, singing, and collecting Star Wars memorabilia. His favorite band is The Smashing Pumpkins..

THE LORD OF THE RINGS

Elijah first heard about The Lord of the Ring’s film project while he was filming The Faculty, and immediately sensed this was the chance of a lifetime. Aided by friend and director George Huang, Elijah filmed his audition tape, and sent the video to director Peter Jackson in New Zealand.

“I rented a Hobbit costume and took a friend's video camera and did a few scenes out in the woods by my house." says Elijah. "I had wanted this role ever since I heard they were going to make the movie. I've been a big fan of the books.“ (Time for Kids interview)

A few months later, Elijah was given the part of Frodo Baggins. Peter Jackson commented on Elijah’s homemade audition tape:

“We didn’t have any idea who to cast as Frodo, and he’s a critical character—he’s the audience, in a sense. When I put the tape in, I just saw Frodo. It was honestly that instantaneous, and at that point in time, the casting for Frodo just came to an end, because I thought Elijah was fantastic. What is great about Elijah and why I think he works in the way that he needs to is that you can look into Elijah’s eyes and you can see through into his heart.”

(Science Fiction Weekly - interview with Peter Jackson)

Of The Lord of the Rings and director Peter Jackson, Elijah says:

“But one of the things that I really loved about his ideas for the film was that he really wanted to make the movie realistic because it is a fantasy film and fantasy books. But the thing about these books and what we're doing with the movie is that they are so real that you believe that Frodo existed. You believe that Gandalf existed. There's a certain quality in some fantasy novels that you don't feel as if they really existed. They feel too far away. And one thing he really wanted to covey with this film is the realism.” (‘On the Set’ interview, Official LOTR Movie Site)