Elijah Jordan Wood
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Elijah Wood played Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy from 2001 to 2003. He beat out 150 actors, including Jake Gyllenhaal, for the role. He later starred in the FX series Wilfred and founded the record label Simian Records and the production company SpectreVision.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Elijah Wood — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Elijah Wood by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Elijah Wood — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Elijah Wood began acting in the early 1990s with films like Paradise 1991 and Radio Flyer 1992. He was born on January 28, 1981, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Warren and Debbie Wood. The family sold their deli to move to California for his career. He modeled as a child to burn off energy and attended Laurel Springs School and Young Actors Space.
Wood broke out with the psychological thriller The Good Son 1993 opposite Macaulay Culkin. He appeared in The Ice Storm 1997, Deep Impact 1998, and The Faculty 1998. In 1999, while filming The Faculty, he heard about the Lord of the Rings adaptation and saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. His audition tape, shot by director George Huang, won him the role of Frodo Baggins over 150 actors. The Lord of the Rings trilogy 2001-2003 made him a global star. He then chose offbeat roles, playing a sociopathic killer in Sin City 2005 and starring in the FX dramedy Wilfred 2011-2014. He voiced Beck in Tron: Uprising 2012 and played the lead in Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency 2016-2017. In 2010, he co-founded SpectreVision, a production company specializing in horror and genre films, producing titles like Mandy 2018. Recent work includes Yellowjackets 2023 and No Man of God 2021.
Wood is married to Mette Marie Kongsved, and they have a son named Evan Kongsved Wood. He has two siblings: older brother Zack, who works in video games, and younger sister Hannah. He loves music and owns thousands of CDs. He plays piano and studies singing. He splits his time between homes in Austin, Texas, and Venice, California.
Wood’s portrayal of Frodo Baggins remains his defining role. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was selected for the National Film Registry in 2001. He became the first recipient of the NATO/ShoWest Young Star of the Year Award and later received the Time Machine Award. Roger Ebert called him the most talented actor in his age group in Hollywood history. His production company SpectreVision has backed horror films like Mandy and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. Wood defied typecasting, moving from blockbuster franchises to indie horror and producing.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Elijah Wood — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Elijah Wood — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
If I Wasn’t an Actor, I’d Be a Secret Agent.
I Think Being Different, Being Against the Grain of Society, Is the Greatest Thing in the World.
My Philosophy Has Always Been to Try to Put Myself into Roles and Films That Are Different. That Intensified After ‘Lord of the Rings’ Because It Was so Massive, but It’s Something I’ve Always Believed in – Wanting to Change People’s Perceptions and Challenge Myself as an Actor.
I Don’t Know That I Necessarily Feel More Comfortable in the Context of Smaller Films, but I Tend to Feel More Comfortable More Often Than Not with the Material of Smaller Films.
Anti-smoking Laws That Now Extend to Outdoor Spaces. Can We Not Let the Use of Free Air Be Determined by the People Using It? Should Someone Have a Problem with Roving Smoke, They Could Simply Ask the Offending Smoker If He or She Would Kindly Refrain. Most Spaces Are Smoke Free, and I Accept That – Particularly Inside Restaurants – but Can Smokers Not Have Patios and General Outdoor Areas?
Truncated Texting. Most of Us Have Full Keyboards on Our Magical Mobile Devices – Use Them. It Was Understandable on Numbered Keypads and Even Forgivable with the Aid of T9. but Now? C U L8r? No, You Won’t.
Little-known facts about Elijah Wood — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
One of two prop rings used in Lord of the Rings is owned by Elijah Wood; the other went to Andy Serkis.
He became the first person to cross Southern Africa’s Victoria Falls by rope.
Out of 150 actors, including Jake Gyllenhaal, Wood was chosen for the role of Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Roger Ebert called him the most talented actor in his age group in Hollywood history.
Each of the nine Fellowship members got the same tattoo: the number nine in Elvish. Wood’s tattoo is on his pelvic bone on the right side.
He considers Frodo Baggins to be his best role.
Wood is the first member of the official Lord of the Rings fan club.
His family owned a deli which they sold so they could move to California.
He was the first choice for the lead role in Eragon 2006.
While filming The Faculty 1998, Wood heard about the Lord of the Rings trilogy and immediately sensed it was the chance of a lifetime. Director George Huang filmed his audition tape from different angles, and after sending it to New Zealand, Wood got the part.
Two of his favorite books are The Hobbit and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
He became a child model when his mother wanted him to burn off excessive energy.
In 2005, he started his own record label, Simian Records.
His favorite actors are Emma Thompson and Tim Roth.
Plays piano.
Studies singing professionally.
Melissa Joan Hart wanted him to play the male lead in Drive Me Crazy 1999 because she thought it would take pressure off her, but she was told he looked too young; the role went to Adrian Grenier.
In the original book The Lord of the Rings, Frodo is 50 years old, making him the oldest of the four lead hobbits, yet Wood is actually the youngest of the four actors.
His favorite movie is Harvey 1950.
He admits to owning thousands of CDs in many musical genres because he loves music.
Dressed up and rode on a float as the god of wine and mirth to head the Bacchus 2004 parade in New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
On an episode of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Wood said he was five years old when he watched his first horror movie, Truth or Dare? 1986, which made him fall in love with horror films.
During the filming of Green Street Hooligans 2005, Wood received an injury under his eyebrow, leaving a visible scar.
He has appeared in one film selected for the National Film Registry: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001.
As of December 2003, Wood lived in a New York apartment with his sister Hannah, but soon moved back to his mother’s guest house in Santa Monica, California. He later moved to his own home in Venice Beach, and now lives in Austin, Texas.
He frequently attends the popular gaming convention E3 in Los Angeles.
Wood has an older brother, Zack born 1974, who works in video games, and a younger sister, Hannah born October 7, 1983.
In 2013 he purchased a house in the south Austin, TX neighborhood of Bouldin Creek.
He is of English, German, Austrian, and Danish descent.
Lives in Austin, Texas.
Was considered for the lead role in Richie Rich 1994.
Was considered for the role of Colin Craven in The Secret Garden 1993.
He was the first recipient of the NATO/ShoWest Young Star of the Year Award.
Godzilla 1998 is his least favorite movie.
Presented at Academy Awards in place of Macaulay Culkin.
Suffered acute appendicitis and was briefly hospitalized in August 2003.
His record label Simian Records released its first album, New Magnetic Wonder by The Apples in Stereo.
Was ranked #16 in E’s 50 cutest child stars all grown up 2005.
Was number 75 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Kid Stars.
Loves The Hives.
Served as the Bacchus of the 2004 Mardi Gras Parade and returned the following two years.
Real-life fan of West Ham United, the team he played a fan of in Green Street Hooligans 2005.
Tested for the lead role of William Miller in Almost Famous 2000.
Parents’ names are Warren and Debbie Wood.
Was ranked #2 on Entertainment Weekly’s 30 Under 30 actors list 2008.
His uncle is Turk E. Krause from the band Molly Nova and the Hawk.
Was considered for the role of Justin Cobb in Thumbsucker 2005 but was deemed too old.
Bought a house in Venice, California and hoped to launch his record label by the end of the year.
Since the film Green Street Hooligans 2005, he became a full supporter of Millwall Football Club.
Born at 6:46 AM CST.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Elijah Wood.
Celebrities similar to Elijah Wood — same craft, ranked by reach.
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