Elijah Wood
Elijah Wood | |
|---|---|
 Elijah Wood in Wellington, New Zealand for the 2003 world premiere of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King | |
| Born | Elijah Jordan Wood |
| Other names | Lij, Eli, Elwood (nicknames) |
| Height | 5'6' (1.68 m) |
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.
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
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
Young Hollywood Awards
ShoWest Convention USA
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards
Online Film Critics Society Awards
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
National Board of Review USA
Empire Awards UK
Broadcast Film Critics Awards
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
Hollywood Film Festival
|
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 2006-10-29.
- ^ "New Xbox to kick off console wars". BBC News. 2005-05-12. Retrieved 2006-10-24.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "First Look Pictures embraced Paris, je t'aime". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
- ^ "Weinsteins To Present Estevez's "Bobby"". rottentomatoes. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
- ^ "Elijah Wood and Hugh Jackman Provide Voices of Penguins in "Happy Feet"". About - News & Issues, NY. 2006-10-14. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Day Zero". Indiewire. Retrieved 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 2006-11-18.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Actor® Recipients Sandra Oh and Elijah Wood Join Sag President Alan Rosenberg to Announce Nominees". Student Operated Press. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
- ^ "Elijah's happy ride". Malaysia Star. Retrieved 2006-11-17.
- ^ "Elijah Wood joins suspects in "Murders"". Reuters. 2006-12-27. Retrieved 2006-12-27.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Elijah Wood to play Iggy Pop". Softpedia. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
- ^ "Elijah Wood Interview". MovieSeer.com. Retrieved 2006-10-31.
- ^ "Steve Martin blog". Retrieved 2006-11-27.
- ^ "Elijah Wood's Label". Spin.com. 2006-09-26. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Elijah Wood is Spyro". Game spy. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
- ^ "The Legend of Spyro: A new beginning". Oficial Site. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
- ^ "Happy Feet star Elijah Wood". BBC. Retrieved 2006-12-27.
- ^ "Elijah iTunes Music Picks of 2005". Elijah Illusions. 2006-09-21. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Everything Is Illuminated". IMDB. 2005-09-16. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Depp, Clooney best at signing fan autographs". MSNBC. Retrieved July 06.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "WOOD MISTAKEN FOR POTTER & SPIDER-MAN". PR Inside. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
- ^ "Wood, Maguire, Radcliffe mistaken for each other". India eNews.com. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
- ^ "pandemoniumfromamerica". TDRS music. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
- ^ "The Oxford Murders". Monsters and Critics. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
External links
- Elijah Wood at IMDb
- Always & Forever: Elijah Wood (Award Winning Fansite)
- 1981 births
- American child actors
- American film actors
- American music industry executives
- American television actors
- American voice actors
- Back to the Future actors
- Frasier actors
- Iowa actors
- Living people
- The Lord of the Rings film series actors
- People from Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Roman Catholic entertainers
- Saturn Award winners
- Spy Kids actors
- MTV Movie Award winners