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Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor. Acting since the age of nine, Wood is best known for the role of Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
Making his film debut with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II (1989), Wood landed a succession of subsequent larger roles, and became a critically acclaimed child actor.
His role as Frodo in The Lord of the Rings made him a star, but he has resisted typecasting by choosing varied roles in critically-acclaimed films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sin City and Everything Is Illuminated. Most recently he starred in ensemble film Bobby and provided the voice of the main character in box office hit Happy Feet, both Golden Globe Award-nominated films. He also played an American tourist turned vampire in Paris, je t'aime. In 2005, he started his own record label.
Early life
Elijah Jordan Wood was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the middle of three children to Warren and Debbie Wood; he has English, Irish, German and Polish ancestry, and was raised a Catholic. As a child he took piano lessons from Marlene Loftsgaarden in Cedar Rapids. He took to the stage in his elementary school's staging of the play The Sound of Music. The following year, he graduated to the title character in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Wood also served as choir boy during the production of See How They Run, produced by the Marion Creative Council.
Career
(1988–1998)
Wood modeled, and did local commercials, before moving with his family to Los Angeles in 1988. It was there that Wood got his first break, a small role in a video by Paula Abdul, "Forever Your Girl," directed by David Fincher. Film work almost instantly followed, with a bit part in Back to the Future Part II (1989). It was Wood's role as Aidan Quinn's son in Barry Levinson's 1990 film Avalon (the third film in the Baltimore trilogy containing 1982's Diner and 1987's Tin Men) that first gave Wood attention, as the film received widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for four Academy Awards.
After a small part in the Richard Gere pot-boiler Internal Affairs (1990), Wood secured his first starring role in Paradise (1991), in which he played a young boy who brings estranged couple Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson back together. He received good reviews for his performance - some said it was one of the best things about the film - and from there, he went on to co-star with Mel Gibson and Jamie Lee Curtis in Forever Young and with Joseph Mazzello in Radio Flyer (both were released in 1992).
In 1993, Wood co-starred with Macaulay Culkin in The Good Son, in the same year he had the lead role in The Adventures of Huck Finn, In 1994 he starred in The War (1994), with Kevin Costner. His performance in this movie gained him a nomination for a 'Young Star Award' (for which he was nominated four times, and won twice), and Roger Ebert said in his review of the film that:
"Elijah Wood has emerged, I believe, as the most talented actor in his age group, in Hollywood history".
Also in 1994, Wood had the title role in North, a film remarkable for the volume of bad reviews and bad box office that it received, but also for the fact that practically every bad review contained a positive assessment of Wood's performance. In 1995 he appeared in the music video for The Cranberries’s Ridiculous Thoughts. In the following year he got lead role in Flipper (1996), which did not get much success, but the subsequent critical and financial success of Ang Lee's The Ice Storm (1997) provided a positive development in the young actor's career. As the soulfully dazed and confused Mikey Carver, Wood gave a portrayal remarkable for its rendering of the thoughtfulness and exquisite hopelessness inherent in the character. Also in 1997 he starred in Oliver Twist, as The Artful Dodger. 1998's Deep Impact and The Faculty did not allow Wood the same degree of character development, but were great financial successes and further stepping stones in Wood's evolution from winsome child star to impressive young actor.
(1999–2003)
Following a brief turn as the boyfriend of a wannabe hip-hop groupie in James Toback's problematic Black and White (1999) and as a junior hitman in Chain of Fools, Wood further evolved as an actor in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the first installation of director Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's literary trilogy. His most hotly anticipated project, the 2001 film gave Wood top billing as Frodo Baggins, alongside a glittering cast that included Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Sean Bean, and Liv Tyler. When the cast were to leave New Zealand from The Lord of the Rings, Jackson gave Wood two gifts; one of the One Rings they used and Sting, Frodo's sword. That same year, the young actor could be seen in less mystical surroundings, courtesy of Ed Burns' Ash Wednesday, a crime drama that also featured Oliver Platt and Rosario Dawson.
In 2002, Wood lent his voice to Disney's straight-to-video release of The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina. Of course, his most substantial role of 2002 is inarguably his return to the role of hobbit Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
2003 proved to be a similar year for Wood - after two relatively small jobs (his role credited as 'The Guy' in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over and his stint as First Assistant Director in Sean Astin's The Long and Short of It served purely as a break for Elijah), he starred in All I Want and once again resumed his role as Frodo Baggins for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the last chapter in Tolkien's trilogy.
(2004–present)
Hot on the heels of the trilogy, Wood quickly appeared in his first post-Frodo role in the off-kilter but highly effective Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), playing an ethically challenged lab technician who helps erase heartbreaking memories' but then uses his knowledge of the past relationship of an unknowing former patient (played by Kate Winslet) to woo her.
He then had a chillingly silent turn as the cannibalistic, bespectacled serial killer Kevin in director Robert Rodriguez and writer-artist Frank Miller's visually arresting adaptation of Miller's crime noir comic book series Sin City (2005), appearing opposite Mickey Rourke in the segment "The Hard Goodbye". On May 12, 2005 , Wood hosted a program called MTV Presents: The Next Generation Xbox Revealed, when the new Xbox 360 was launched.
Also in 2005, Wood starred in Everything Is Illuminated, in which he plays a young American Jewish man on a quest to find the woman who once saved his grandfather during the Second World War, and Green Street Hooligans, as an American college student who falls in with a violent English football firm, both had limited release, but were critically acclaimed.
Wood shot a small part in Paris, je t'aime, which consists of eighteen 5-minute sections. Each section is directed by a different director. Wood’s section, called Quartier de la Madeleine, was directed by Vincenzo Natali. The film opened on May 18 at 2006 Cannes Film Festival and was shown at 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. First Look Pictures has acquired the North American rights, and the film is set to open in the US in early 2007.
His most recent films are Emilio Estevez's Bobby, which his character is marrying a girl to change his draft classification. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was released on November 17, 2006 in New York and Los Angeles, wide release followed on November 23, and Happy Feet, which he provided the voice of Mumble, a penguin who can tap dance, but not sing. Happy Feet was released in November 17, 2006 and has grossed over $300 million dollars worldwide. The movie also received Golden Globe Award nomination and won Academy Award and BAFTA for Best Animated Feature.
Wood has finished filming Day Zero, a drama about the draft, in which he portrays Aaron Feller. This movie is currently in post-production and will be released in 2007. On November 19, Wood hosted the special Saving a Species: The Great Penguin Rescue for Discovery Kids Channel, for which he has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy in the category of acting in a children/youth/family special.
On January 4, 2007 Wood joined Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg to announce the nominees for the 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®.
Wood is currently filming The Oxford Murders, film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Guillermo Martínez, in which he plays a graduate student, who investigates a series of bizarre, mathematically-based murders in Oxford.
Wood also is set to star in The Passenger, a biopic about singer Iggy Pop as young man. He has finished recording voice work for Tim Burton's upcoming animated feature film version of the short film 9. And despite rumors to the contrary, he will not star in a film adapted from a play written by Steve Martin, called Picasso at the Lapin Agile, as there is no such film in the works.
Other work
Elijah Wood is one of the biggest collectors of music in Hollywood and has professionally studied music. In 2005 Wood started his own record label called Simian Records. On September 19, 2006 Wood announced that Simian had signed The Apples in Stereo as their first band, with their new album New Magnetic Wonder due out in February of 2007. He also directed a video for the band "The Apples in Stereo." The other band signed to Simian thus far is Heloise and the Savoir Faire. Wood declared to be a great fan of these two bands.
Wood provides the voice of Spyro, in the new game The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning and Mumble in Happy Feet (video game). He also contributed his talents to fellow Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen's album pandemoniumfromamerica, singing and playing various instruments on the album.
Personal life
Wood likes to keep his personal life away from the media spotlight, and is particularly private about his romantic relationships. However, it is known that in 2002 he dated the German actress Franka Potente, the relationship ending later that year. Wood blamed the separation on age difference and distance. He still wears a ring Potente gave him, which bears a Hebrew inscription meaning 'if not now, when?', a quote from Hillel the Elder. Wood was also rumored to have dated Bijou Phillips, his co-star in Black And White, but in September 2005, he told Howard Stern that the rumor was untrue. Currently, he is dating Gogol Bordello's backup dancer Pamela Racine; the relationship began sometime after they met on the set of Everything Is Illuminated in 2004.
In an interview about Everything Is Illuminated, director Liev Schreiber commented that Wood has a "generosity of spirit" and a "sincere goodness as a human being." He also has supported several campaigns for charity as Keep a Child Alive or ALDO/YouthAIDS In addition to charity work, Wood is a known music buff who admits to owning something in the range of 3,000 CDs, and once cited his favorite band as The Smashing Pumpkins. His personal playlist of favorite songs can be accessed on iTunes.
He has a tattoo of the Elvish word for nine, to commemorate playing a member of the Fellowship in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, just below his waist on the right side. In May 2006, Autograph Collector Magazine published its list of 10 Best & 10 Worst Hollywood Signers, Wood was ranked #7 on the list of Best Signers. Wood has, on occasion, been mistaken for Tobey Maguire and Daniel Radcliffe.
Filmography
Films
Year Title Role Notes
1989 Back to the Future Part II Video-game boy Cameo
Internal Affairs Sean Stretch Cameo
Avalon Michael Kaye
The Witness Little Boy short film
1990 Child in the Night Luke made-for-television
1991 Paradise Willard Young
Forever Young Nat Cooper
Radio Flyer Mike
1992 Day-O Day-O
The Adventures of Huck Finn Huckleberry Finn
1993 The Good Son Mark Evans
North North
1994 The War Stuart 'Stu' Simmons
1996 Flipper Sandy
The Ice Storm Mikey Carver
1997 Oliver Twist Jack 'The Artful Dodger' Dawkins made-for-television
Deep Impact Leo Beiderman
1998 The Faculty Casey Connor
The Bumblebee Flies Anyway Barney Snow
1999 Black and White Wren
2000 Chain Of Fools Mikey Direct-to-video
Ash Wednesday Sean Sullivan
2001 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Frodo Baggins
The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina Tom Thumb (voice) Direct-to-video
2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Frodo Baggins
The Long and Short of It first assistant director short film
All I Want aka Try Seventeen Jones Dillon Direct-to-video
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over The Guy Cameo
2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Frodo Baggins
2004 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Patrick
Sin City Kevin
Green Street Hooligans Matt Buckner
2005 Everything Is Illuminated Jonathan Safran Foer
Paris, je t'aime young American tourist US release: April, 2007
Happy Feet Mumble (Voice)
2006 Bobby William Avary
Day Zero Aaron Feller post-production
2007 The Oxford Murders Martin Filming
The Passenger Iggy Pop announced
2008 9 9 (Voice) in production
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2006 Robot Chicken ? (Voice) Sausage Fest - TV Episode
American Dad! Ethan (Voice) Iced, Iced Babies - TV Episode
Punk'd Himself TV Episode
2004 The Osbournes Himself TV Episode
King of the Hill Jason (Voice) Girl, You'll Be a Giant Soon- TV Episode
2003 Saturday Night Live Host TV Episode
2002 The Electric Playground ? TV Episode
1996 Homicide: Life on the Street McPhee Broadman The True Test- TV Episode
Adventures from the Book of Virtues Icarus (Voice) Responsibility - TV Episode
1994 Frasier Ethan (Voice) Guess Who's Coming to Breakfast - TV Episode
Music videos
* Paula Abdul: Forever Your Girl (1989)
* The Cranberries: Ridiculous Thoughts (1995)
* The Apples in Stereo: Energy (as director) (2006)
| Latest news about Elijah Wood |
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Elijah Wood's Lazy AnimationElijah Wood's Lazy Animation. 2 months ago 14th Sep 13:30. Elijah Wood loves starring in animated films because he doesn't have to do much. The 'Lord of the Rings' star loved lending his voice to a character in new animated film '9' ... Continue reading
Photos of Adam Brody, Katie Holmes, Josh Duhamel, Elijah Wood ...Josh Duhamel and Anna Paquin were the couple saying their I Dos, while Elijah Wood and Adam Brody played groomsmen to Katie Holmes and Malin Akerman's bridesmaids. The nuptials come at an interesting time for a few of the actors — Anna ... Continue reading
ohnotheydidnt: Elijah Wood enjoys coffee break with his co-starElijah Wood enjoys coffee break with his co-star. Elijah Woods takes a Romantic break. Now here is a smiling face we don't get to see very much of!! A very busy Elijah Woods enjoyed a coffee break with co-star Jeremy Strong in Long ... Continue reading
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HD Trailer of 9 with Elijah Wood & John C. Reilly plus Movie ...Shane Acker is behind the PG-13 picture with voice talent Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau and Crispin Glover. It tells the tale of 9 coming to life to find himself in a post-apocalyptic ... Continue reading
HipCelebrity: Katie Holmes films scenes for "The Romantics" with ...Katie Holmes films scenes for "The Romantics" with Elijah Wood in New York. Photo from fOTOGLIF. Photo from fOTOGLIF. Photo from fOTOGLIF. Photo from fOTOGLIF · Add to Technorati Favorites · Share/Save/Bookmark ... Continue reading
Peeping Elijah Wood and Shirley MansonTheir line of eyewear definitely has a classic feel with modern influence and the photography by Autum De Wilde provides an interesting look at rocker Shirley Manson and actor Elijah Wood. I have no idea how these two came together on ... Continue reading
CAPTION THIS: Elijah Wood Graduates From Hobbit To Smoking ...I do have one thrilling Elijah Wood real-life story: Three years ago, my roommate and I went to a party in Brooklyn that our friend was DJing, got there around midnight, then we went over to the DJ table to say hi to our friend and he ... Continue reading
Hollywood Actors Jessica alba Elijah Wood pictures and Elijah Wood biography
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