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Elijah Wood

Elijah Wood has spent much of his career balancing a familiar, open-faced screen presence with a taste for strange, dark and unpredictable material. Born on January 28, 1981, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he began modeling and taking piano lessons at seven before appearing in local commercials and Paula Abdul’s “Forever Your Girl” music video. Early film roles followed in Back to the Future Part II, Avalon, Radio Flyer, The Adventures of Huck Finn, The Good Son and The Ice Storm, establishing him as a notably assured young performer. For many viewers, Wood remains inseparable from Frodo Baggins. He was the first actor cast in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy after submitting an audition tape dressed as Frodo and reading from J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel. Across The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, Wood carried the emotional burden of the story while surrounded by an expansive ensemble. He later returned as Frodo in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. What makes Wood’s career especially interesting is what he chose around and after Middle-earth. He played the unscrupulous Patrick in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the silent killer Kevin in Sin City and a young Jewish-American searching for a link to his family’s past in Everything Is Illuminated. Green Street, Maniac, Grand Piano, I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore and Come to Daddy further reflect his willingness to work in thrillers, black comedy and off-center genre films rather than remain in one comfortable lane. His voice work has been just as varied. Wood voiced Mumble in Happy Feet and its sequel, the title character in 9, Spyro in The Legend of Spyro games and Wirt in the animated miniseries Over the Garden Wall. On television, he led Wilfred for four seasons and co-starred as Todd Brotzman in Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. Alongside acting, Wood has worked as a film producer, musician and disc jockey. He both starred in and helped produce No Man of God, continuing a career shaped by curiosity, genre-hopping and an evident interest in projects that sit a little outside the expected.