In many ways, Wood's travels through the wilds of Hollywood mirror the journey of his seminal character, Frodo Baggins, the little hobbit that could in
The Lord of the Rings. Prior to winning the part, he was a well-respected juvenile player, known for his versatility, energy and expressive, oversize eyes. But like Frodo, once the
LOTR saga wrapped, Wood had passed into manhood, successfully making the treacherous leap from child star to adult actor. After launching his career at age 9 with small parts in
Back to the Future II and Paula Abdul's "Forever Your Girl" video, he soon began landing more substantial feature-film roles, notably his turn as a young Jewish boy growing up in the '40s in Barry Levinson's autobiographically inspired 1990 film
Avalon. Although many of Wood's subsequent projects were duds — the sentimental abuse saga
Radio Flyer, the reviled comedy
North,
The Bad Seed rip-off
The Good Son — he consistently earned good reviews and quickly became the '90s It child actor. Toward the end of the decade, he took on more mature roles, and his former cuddly cuteness transformed into a more ambiguous and intense screen persona, which he used particularly well as a disgruntled and doomed teen in the lauded indie
The Ice Storm. But it was the
LOTR trilogy that turned him into an internationally recognized celebrity. As the keeper of the powerful titular ring, Wood delivered an emotional (if at times one-note) performance in each of the three blockbusters, and while his costars may have had the flashier roles, he was the saga's heart and soul. Now a full-fledged adult star with a wide choice of projects, the savvy twentysomething carefully avoided being pigeonholed by eschewing typically bland leading roles in favor of eccentric supporting parts in eclectic films, including turns as a love-crazed stalker in
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and a silent but deadly cannibal in
Sin City. Elijah Wood Fast Facts:
- Collects Star Wars memorabilia and visited the set of Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones while filming The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
- Got a matching tattoo with his fellow LOTR actors to commemorate their friendship.
- Elijah Wood Relationships:
- Debbie Wood - Mother
- Franka Potente - Ex-significant Other
- Hannah Wood - Sister
- Pamela Racine - Significant Other
- Warren Wood - Father
- Zachariah Wood - Brother
