Elijah Wood

From Tolkien Gateway
Elijah Wood
Elijah Wood
LifetimeJanuary 28, 1981
PortrayedFrodo in:
 The Lord of the Rings (film series)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
IMDbProfile

Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa) is a U.S. actor who played Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series. He is the middle of three children born to Warren and Debbie Wood, who nicknamed Elijah "Spark Plug" because he was a maniacally energetic child. He has a brother Zack, a video game producer and seven years his senior, as well as a younger sister Hannah, a poet and actress who has had small roles in a number of his films. He has been a professional actor since the age of nine.

Trivia[edit | edit source]

While filming The Faculty he learned that casting had begun for New Zealand director Peter Jackson’s epic production of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novel trilogy The Lord of the Rings. Wood immediately had his friend, director George Huang, film an audition tape of him running in the fields with crudely made Hobbit feet, and sent the tape to Jackson. Despite Jackson’s initial assertion that all of the Hobbit characters would be played by British actors, he was immediately won over by Wood’s audition and the American Wood was cast in the lead role of Tolkien’s diminutive hero Frodo Baggins. Jackson later said he could not possibly imagine another actor in the world who would be better-suited to Frodo.

The cast of the Rings movies was nominated for Best Ensemble Acting at the Screen Actors Guild Awards for three years in a row. They finally won in 2003, for the third film The Return of the King. For his performance as Frodo Baggins, Elijah Wood was nominated by the MTV Movie Awards and for the final installment, The Return of the King, he was nominated for a British Academy Award for Best Actor.

Quotes[edit | edit source]

"He's just got a spirit, you know? That's what I love about him...he's very alive and very lively. You don't get to see a lot of that--only in the beginning of the first film--but his spirit, the light that's in him, is what holds him together."
― Elijah Wood about Frodo, E! Online
"It wasn't like a normal role, I don't have to be a human; I have to be a hobbit. And there were things that were sort of germane to being a hobbit, that was probably why it was so intriguing."
― Elijah Wood on lordoftherings.net
"Quite simply it is love. It is the unconditional love that says, regardless of what you do or where you go, I will always be there for you."
― Elijah Wood on the friendship of Frodo and Sam, The Lord of the Rings: Official Movie Guide.

Awards[edit | edit source]

External Links[edit | edit source]