Elijah Wood

Elijah Wood as Frodo

Date of Birth: January 28 1981
Place: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.A.
Nickname: Elwood, Lij, Monkey, 'The Funny'
Height 5' 7" (1.68 m)
Education: Enrolled in modelling school at Avant Studios in Cedar Rapids.
Tattoos: #9 tattoo in Elvish on his torso
Family: Warren and Deborah Wood, older brother Zachariah and younger sister Hannah


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Elijah was born on January 28th, 1981 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as the second son of Deborah and Warren Wood. During his first years nothing most uncommon happened--at least not that it was ever being noticed by the public. His "talents," of which acting is just the best known, began showing shortly after he started school.

In particular, he was, in 1987, in the chorus of "The Sound Of Music," the annual festival of his elementary school. In the next year, he was cast the lead role in "The Wizard Of Oz," another musical production at his school, which was part of the festival "Hooray for Hollywood." Also, he was a choir boy in the Marion Creative Council's production called "See How They Run."

Different resources reported that, when she once saw a commercial, Elijah's mother thought that Elijah could "do" some TV-related jobs, as well. Thus, at the age of seven, she enrolled him in a local modelling school, at Avant Studios (also known as Avant Models & Talent), Cedar Rapids. Half a year later, she travelled with her son to the International Modelling and Talent Association convention, in Los Angeles, which was actually the first time for Elijah being in California--this maybe makes it even more understandable why Elijah claims his mother having played a very, very important role in his career.

Later, Gary Scalzo, a talent manager, said that he reluctantly had agreed being a judge at this convention. Totally, there were more than 200 children, as well as about 300 hopeful talents up to the age of 30, at this event. When Gary was suggested, by some of his friends, to watch Elijah's
performance, he took quite some time to take a closer look at him. Gary himself put it into words, "(...) I watched him for two whole days without opening my mouth. He was packed with personality and nervous energy. The big question I asked myself was whether I could control his energy."

Mr. David Guillod, one of those friends, who had suggested Elijah to Gary Scalzo, recalls "Oh!, he was such a cutie! I think what struck us was the
simple fact that (...) when he walked out on stage, the room was silent. Elijah had this stage presence, and he commanded the stage with his smile.
He did it with a natural charm and charisma, and he won the hearts of the people. It was just a quality."

Further, Gary Scalzo told, "It was only a few days before his eighth birthday when I saw him perform his monologue. It was evident that Elijah
was talented and enjoyed what he was doing, which is important. After the competition I talked to his mother and asked if Elijah would like to come to my office with her the next day and talk about the possibilities of an acting career. Elijah and I read some scenes together and he was wonderful.
He read brilliantly. He's also very directable."

Elijah himself recalls, "When my mom brought me to Hollywood for the convention, I didn't think of acting because I was just a model. But when
Gary asked me if I wanted to be an actor, I said, 'Yeah, sure. I'll be an actor.' Gary was one of the judges in the talent auditions and my mom said
it was OK with her. He said, 'I believe in you' and asked my mom if we could move out."

One month after these events, the Wood family relocated to L.A.; although it might have seemed a little "hasty," the events that happened next had shown the correctness of this step! Guided by Mr. Scalzo, who represented Elijah during the next three years, the career of young Mr. Wood had begun. So, only six weeks had passed with auditions when Elijah had his first professional job: taking part in Paula Abdul's music video production
"Forever Your Girl."

Very soon followed Elijah's first appearances in movies, where he got to know several high-class, well-known directors and actors: Michael J. Fox in
Robert Zemeckie's production "Back To The Future II;" Richard Gere in "Internal Affairs." But his big break-through came in late 1990, when
"Avalon" (with Armin Mueller Stahl) was released. Finally, critics started noticing what others had known from their first encounter with this young,
energetic boy. "What Elijah always did was, he jumped off the screen, because he enjoyed himself and he enjoyed the business," recalls Mr.
Guillod. "And you can see it. You can certainly see it." Gary Scalzo put it this way, saying "Elijah's personality is just right for the screen. When he
walks in, the whole room lights up."

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. Also in 1994, Wood had the title role in North, a film remarkable for the volume of bad reviews and bad box office it received, but also for the fact that practically every bad review contained a positive assessment of Wood's performance. Wood's follow-up, the 1996 Flipper, 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. 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.

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 Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the first installation of director Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings 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, and Liv Tyler. 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 let his vocal chords for Disney's straight-to-video release of The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina. Of course, his most substantial role of 2002 is unarguably his return to the role of hobbit Frodo Baggins in the second installment of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy; specifically, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

2003 proved to be a similar year for Wood -- after two relatively small jobs (his role credited only 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), the young actor once again resumed his role for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Though Return of the King is the last in the Tolkien trilogy, 2004 nonetheless looks to be a significant year for Wood, as he is slated to star in soccer flick Hooligans, as well work alongside Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet in director Michel Gondry's fantasy feature Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. (Source, Rebecca Flint, All Movie Guide)

Random facts

Hobbies: Reading, fencing, photography, rollerblading, swimming, hockey, cooking, surfing, collecting Star Wars memorabilia, basketball and singing
Bad Habits: Smokes Clove Cigarrettes and bites his fingernails and toenails
Car: Mini Cooper
Motto: "There's nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true
nobility is being superior to your former self" - Ernest Hemingway
Favourites
Colour: Blue
Books: The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien and The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
Subjects: English and History
Movies: Star Wars Trilogy, Heavenly Creatures, Pulp Fiction, Braveheart
Music: Is there anything he doesn't like!? He's obsessed with music apparantly, so he likes mostly everything. But he does likes The Smashing
Pumpkins, Massive Attack, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix
Food: Homemade Potato Salad
Actor: Tim Roth
Actress: Emma Thompson
Other Facts
   If he wasn't an actor he would be a Secret Agent
   He learnt singing professionally
   He'd love to start his own record label
   Elijah says that he is really interested in the film making process and would like to be a director one day.
   He wears glasses but not all the time
   He now owns the one ring and keeps it in a box at home
   He loves animals
   Elijah loves playing video games
   To get the role of Frodo Baggins, Elijah hired a hobbit costume, went out into the hills with his friends and shot some scenes from the book.

Filmography

Bobby (2006)
Yank, The (2005)
Happy Feet (2006)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) ....
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003)
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, The (2003/II) (VG) (voice)
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002)
Try Seventeen (2002)
Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina, The (2002)
Lord of the Piercing (2002) (TV)
Ash Wednesday (2002) .... Sean Sullivan
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001)
Chain of Fools (2000)
Bumblebee Flies Anyway, The (1999)
Black and White (1999)
Faculty, The (1998)
Deep Impact (1998)
Oliver Twist (1997) (TV)
Ice Storm, The (1997)
Flipper (1996)
War, The (1994)
North (1994)
Good Son, The (1993)
Adventures of Huck Finn, The (1993)
Witness, The (1992) (TV)
Forever Young (1992)
Day-O (1992) (TV)
Radio Flyer (1992)
Paradise (1991)
Avalon (1990)
Child in the Night (1990)
Internal Affairs (1990)
Back to the Future Part II (1989)

All letters should be sent to:
Elijah Wood
c/o Nicole David
William Morris Agency
151 El Camino Drive
Beverly Hills
California 90212
USA

Contributed by and Elril Galia

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