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Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an
American actor and music executive. A professional actor 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 choosing varied roles in
critically-acclaimed films as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sin City,
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.
****
Birth name Elijah Jordan Wood
Born January 28, 1981 (age 25)
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
Height 5'6' (1.68 m)
Other name(s) Lij, Eli, Elwood (nicknames)
Notable roles Avalon (1990)
The Ice Storm (1997)
The Lord of the Rings (2001-03)
Sin City (2005)
Happy Feet (2006)
****
Early
life and Career
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.
He was nicknamed Elijah 'Spark Plug' because he was
a maniacally energetic child, and also 'Monkey' because he liked to climb
things. He has a brother, Zack Wood, a video game producer (born in 1974), as
well as a sister, Hannah Wood (born in 1984) who is a poet and actress (and has
had small roles in a number of Elijah Wood's films). Elijah had moved from Iowa
to L.A. with his family when his career began. But in 1996 his parents divorced
and his father returned to Iowa. Elijah lived for a long time in Los Angeles,
and later in New York, but currently resides in Venice Beach.
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, which was a failure both at the box office and with filmgoers who
couldn't stomach the idea of the little blond boy from Home Alone as a pre-teen
psychopath. In casting Wood as the good to Culkin's evil, the film helped
further establish the kind of characters Wood was to become known for:
thoughtful, well meaning, and perhaps a bit confused. Wood's next film, the same
year's The Adventures of Huck Finn, provided a departure from this type of
character, but The War (1994), with Kevin Costner, marked something of a return.
But his performance in this movie gained him a nomination for a 'Young Star
Award' (for which he was nominated five times, and won once), 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.[1]
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 Cranberries’s Ridiculous Thoughts. Wood's follow-up, Flipper (1996),
was hardly an improvement, 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.
1999-2005
Following a brief turn as the boyfriend of a
wannabe hip-hop groupie in James Toback's problematic Black and White (1999),
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.
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.[2]
Wood also starred in the acclaimed 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 were released in 2005.
2006-present
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.[3]
His most recent films are Emilio Estevez's Bobby,
which his character is marrying a girl to change his draft classification.[4] .
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,[5] which he provided the voice of Mumble, a penguin who can tap dance, but
not sing. Happy Feet was released in November 17, 2006.
Wood has finished filming Day Zero,[6] 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
[7]
On January 4, 2007 Wood joined Screen Actors Guild
President Alan Rosenberg to announce the nominees for the 13th Annual Screen
Actors Guild Awards®.[8]
Wood's current project is a film adaptation of the
novel, The Oxford Murders, in which he will be playing a graduate student, who
investigates a series of bizarre, mathematically-based murders in Oxford.
Filming will begin in on January 22.[9] [10]
Wood also is set to star in The Passenger, a biopic
about singer Iggy Pop as young man,[11]. He has finished recording voice work
for Tim Burton's upcoming animated feature film version of the short film 9.[12]
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.[13], as there
is no such film in the works.
Previous collaborations
During his career, Wood worked with directors
including, David Fincher (in video clip), Robert Zemeckis, Barry Levinson,
Richard Donner, Mike Figgis, Stephen Sommers, Ang Lee, Michel Gondry, Peter
Jackson, Robert Rodriguez,Vincenzo Natali and George Miller, as well as
actors-turned-directors Liev Schreiber, Emilio Estevez and Edward Burns. He also
worked on movies produced by Steven Spielberg and Tim Burton.
Other
Work
Elijah Wood is one of the biggest collectors of
music of Hollywood and he 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.[14] 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.[15] [16] and Mumble in Happy Feet (video
game).[17]
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.
Wood's favorite movie is Harvey. He is a 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 here[18].
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'.[19] He also has supported several campaigns
for charity as Keep a Child Alive or ALDO/YouthAIDS
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.[20]
Elijah seems to be rather sentimental about the
friends he has made, becoming very close with his hobbit friends during and
after the filming of The Lord of the Rings. He also cares very much for memories
and pictures and can often be seen in many pictures of premieres and other
events clutching a camera in his hand, to take his own. He rightly agrees that
he is famous for his beautiful blue eyes – but he can only see a few inches
without his contact lenses. He describes himself as "incredibly nearsighted".
Trivia
Wood has, on occasion, been mistaken for Tobey
Maguire and Daniel Radcliffe.[21] .[22]
In 2003, his appendix burst, and he had to spend a
week in the hospital to recover from its removal.
Elijah's mother named all of her children with
biblical names, Zachariah Nathanial, Elijah Jordan and Hannah Blessing.
Elijah contributed his talents to fellow Lord of
the Rings star Viggo Mortensen's album pandemoniumfromamerica, singing and
playing various instruments on the album. [23]
Filmography
Films
Year Title Role Notes
2008 9 9 (Voice) in production
2007 The Passenger Iggy Pop pre-production
The Oxford Murders Martin Filming starts January
22, 2007
Day Zero Aaron Feller post-production
2006 Bobby William Avery
Happy Feet Mumble (Voice)
Paris, je t'aime young American tourist US release:
April, 2007
2005 Everything Is Illuminated Jonathan Safran
Foer
Green Street Hooligans Matt Buckner
Sin City Kevin
2004 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Patrick
2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Frodo Baggins
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over The Guy Cameo
All I Want aka Try Seventeen Jones Dillon
Direct-to-video
The Long and Short of It first assistant director
short film
2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Frodo
Baggins
The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina Tom
Thumb (voice) Direct-to-video
2001 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the
Ring Frodo Baggins
Ash Wednesday Sean Sullivan Direct-to-video
2000 Chain Of Fools Mikey Direct-to-video
1999 Black and White Wren
The Bumblebee Flies Anyway Barney Snow
made-for-television
1998 The Faculty Casey Connor
Deep Impact Leo Beiderman
1997 Oliver Twist Jack 'The Artful Dodger' Dawkins
made-for-television
The Ice Storm Mikey Carver
1996 Flipper Sandy
1994 The War Stuart 'Stu' Simmons
North North
1993 The Good Son Mark Evans
The Adventures of Huck Finn Huckleberry Finn
1992 Day-O Day-O
Radio
Flyer Mike
Forever Young Nat Cooper
1991 Paradise Willard Young
1990 Child in the Night Luke made-for-television
The Witness Little Boy short film
Avalon Michael Kaye
Internal Affairs Sean Stretch Cameo
1989 Back to the Future Part II Video-game boy
Cameo
Television work
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
Video
clips
Paula Abdul: Forever Your Girl (1989)
The Cranberries: Ridiculous Thoughts (1995)
The Apples in Stereo: Energy (as director) (2006)
Awards
and nominations
Young Star Awards
1995 Nominate Best Performance by a Young Actor in
a Drama Film The War 1994
1997 Nominated Best Performance by a Young Actor in
a Comedy Film Flipper 1996
1998 Won Best Performance by a Young Actor in a
Drama Film Deep Impact 1998
1998 Won Best Performance by a Young in a
Miniseries/Made for TV Movies Oliver Twist 1997
Young Hollywood Awards
2002 Won Hottest, Coolest Young Veteran - Male N/A
Young Artist Awards
1991 Nominated Best Young Actor Starring in a TV
Movie, Pilot or Special Child in the Night 1990
1991 Nominated Best Young Actor Starring in a
Motion Picture Avalon 1990
1992 Nominated Best Young Actor Starring in a
Motion Picture Paradise 1991
1993 Won Best Young Actor Starring in a Motion
Picture Radio Flyer 1992
1995 Nominated Best Young Actor Starring in a
Motion Picture North 1994
1997 Nominated Best Performance in a Drama Series -
Guest Starring Young Actor Homicide: Life on the Street 1993
1998 Nominated Best Performance in a Feature Film -
Supporting Young Actor The Ice Storm 1997
Visual Effects Society Awards
2003 Won Best Performance by an Actor in a Effect
Film Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2002
Teen Choice Awards
2002 Nominated Film - Choice Actor, Drama/Action
Adventure FOTR 2001
2003 Nominated Choice Movie Actor - Drama/Action
Adventure TTT 2002
2004 Nominated Choice Movie Actor - Drama/Action
Adventure ROTK 2003
2005 Nomineted Choice Movie Bad Guy Sin City 2005
ShoWest Convention USA
1994 Won Young Star of the Year
Screen Actors Guild Awards
2002 Nominated Outstanding Performance by the Cast
of a Theatrical Motion Picture FOTR 2001
2003 Nominated Outstanding Performance by the Cast
of a Theatrical Motion Picture TTT 2002
2004 Won Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a
Theatrical Motion Picture ROTK 2003
2006 Nominated Outstanding Performance by a Cast in
a Motion Picture Bobby 2006
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards
2002 Won Best Ensemble Acting FOTR 2001
2003 Won Best Ensemble Acting TTT 2002
2004 Nominated Best Ensemble Acting ROTK 2003
Online Film Critics Society Awards
2003 Won Best Ensemble ROTK 2003
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
1999 Nominated Favorite Actor - Horror The Faculty
1998
1999 Nominated Favorite Supporting Actor - Sci-Fi
Deep Impact 1998
National Board of Review USA
2003 Won Best Acting by an Ensemble ROTK 2003
MTV Movie Awards
2002 Nominated Best On-Screen Team FOTR 2001
2003 Won Best On-Screen Team TTT 2003
Kids' Choice Awards
2002 Nominated Favorite Male Butt Kicker FOTR
2003 Nominated Favorite Male Kicker TTT
Empire Awards UK
2002 Won Best Actor FOTR
DVD Exclusive Awards
2003 Nominated Best Animated Character Performance
The Adventures of Tom Thumb & Thumbelina 2002
2003 Nominated Best Audio Commentary, New Release
FOTR
2003 Nominated Best Audio Commentary (New For DVD)
TTT
Broadcast Film Critics Awards
2004 Won Best Acting Ensemble ROTK
1999 Nominated Favorite Actor - Horror The Faculty
1998
1999 Nominated Favorite Supporting Actor - Sci-Fi-
Deep Impact 1998
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films
1994 Won Best Performance by a Young Actor The Good
Son 1993
1995 Nominated Best Performance by a Younger Actor
North 1994
2003 Nominated Best Performance by a Younger Actor
TTT
2004 Won Best Actor ROTK
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
2004 Won Outstanding Achievement in Character
Performance - Male ROTK
Hollywood Film Festival
2006 Won Best Ensemble Cast for Bobby
References
Sibley, Brian. The Lord Of The Rings Official Movie
Guide. Houghton Mifflin, 2001. ISBN 0-618-15402-7.
Footnotes
-
^ "Roger Ebert’s review for The
War", Suntimes. Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
-
^ "New Xbox to kick off console
wars", BBC News, 2005-05-12. Retrieved on 2006-10-24.
-
^ "First Look Pictures embraced
Paris, je t'aime", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
-
^ "Weinsteins To Present
Estevez's "Bobby"", rottentomatoes. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
-
^ "Elijah Wood and Hugh Jackman
Provide Voices of Penguins in "Happy Feet"", About - News & Issues, NY,
2006-10-14. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
-
^ "Day Zero", Indiewire.
Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
-
^ "Elijah Wood Examines the
plight of penguins in Saving a species: The Great penguins rescue", Sea
World.org, 2006-11-18. Retrieved on 2006-11-18.
-
^ "Actor® Recipients Sandra Oh
and Elijah Wood Join Sag President Alan Rosenberg to Announce Nominees",
Student Operated Press. Retrieved on 2006-12-29.
-
^ "Elijah’s happy ride", Malaysia
Star. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
-
^ "Elijah Wood joins suspects in
"Murders"", Reuters, 2006-12-27. Retrieved on 2006-12-27.
-
^ "Elijah Wood to play Iggy Pop",
Softpedia. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
-
^ "Elijah Wood Interview",
MovieSeer.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-31.
-
^ "Steve Martin blog". Retrieved
on 2006-11-27.
-
^ "Elijah Wood’s Label", Spin.com,
2006-09-26. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
-
^ "Elijah Wood is Spyro", Game
spy. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
-
^ "The Legend of Spyro: A new
beginning", Oficial Site. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
-
^ "Happy Feet star Elijah Wood",
BBC. Retrieved on 2006-12-27.
-
^ "Elijah iTunes Music Picks of
2005", Elijah Illusions, 2006-09-21. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
-
^ "Everything Is Illuminated",
IMDB, 2005-09-16. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
-
^ Depp, Clooney best at signing
fan autographs. MSNBC. Retrieved on July 06, 2006.
-
^ "WOOD MISTAKEN FOR POTTER &
SPIDER-MAN", PR Inside. Retrieved on 2006-12-07.
-
^ "Wood, Maguire, Radcliffe
mistaken for each other", India eNews.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-07.
-
^ "pandemoniumfromamerica", TDRS
music. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
****
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