Elijah Wood Biography
Summary
"Elijah Jordan Wood" (born January 28 1981) is an American actor. Acting since the age of eight, 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.
After his role as Frodo in "The Lord of the Rings", Wood 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 award-winning animated film "Happy Feet". He also played an American tourist turned vampire in "Paris, je t'aime". In 2005, he started his own record label, Simian Records.
Early life
Wood, the middle of three children, was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Debra D. Krause and Warren W. 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
Early career
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:
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.
"The Lord of the Rings"
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 Sir Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Sean Bean, Viggo Mortensen, 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" (2003), the last chapter in Tolkien's trilogy.
Recent roles
Hot on the heels of the trilogy, Wood quickly appeared in his first post-Frodo role in "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 opened in the US in early 2007.
His most recent films are Emilio Estevez's "Bobby", in which his character marries 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 $380 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. The film had its debut at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival.
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 also has finished 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".
Other work
Elijah Wood is one of the biggest collectors of music in Hollywood. 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" released in February of 2007. In addition he also directed the music video for 'Energy'. 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 has also provided voiceovers for videogames, via roles for Spyro in The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning - reprising the role for The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night, - and Mumble in the game version of Happy Feet. 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.
Wood has signed to co-produce the film 'Black Wings Has My Angel,' based on the noir novel of the same name, with Anthony Moody and Rob Malkani of Indalo Productions.
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 2003, he suffered an acute appendicitis and had to stay in the hospital for two weeks.
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.
He smokes clove cigarettes - a habit he picked up from his The Faculty co-star Josh Hartnett.
Filmography
Music videos
Paula Abdul: Forever Your Girl (1989)
The Cranberries: Ridiculous Thoughts (1995)
The Apples in Stereo: Energy (as director) (2006)
Awards and nominations
"Daytime Emmy Awards"
2007 Nominated Outstanding Performer In A Children/Youth/Family Special - Saving a Species: The Great Penguin Rescue 2006
References
Sibley, Brian. "The Lord of the Rings Official Movie Guide". Houghton Mifflin, 2001. ISBN 0-618-15402-7.
External links
(Always & Forever: Elijah Wood) (Award winning fansite)
(Elijah Wood: Performer for Our Time)
(Elijah talks about Simian Records)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Elijah Wood.
