The world started talking about the blue-eyed brown-haired with angelic features after the release of the first part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Of course, the biography and filmography of Elijah Wood before that moment were already in the public domain, because the actor began to act at a very young age, but world fame came to him precisely after the role of Frodo Baggins. Surprisingly, after such a tremendous success, Wood was no longer seen in such high-profile projects, preferring to experiment with authorial cinema and reveal new facets of his talent.
Talented "monkey"
Elijah Jordan Wood is a typical American with a mixture of English, German, Austrian and Danish blood. He was born on January 28, 1981 in the town of Cedar Rapids, in Iowa, USA. In the Catholic family of Warren and Debbie Wood, in addition to Elijah, there were two more children, the elder brother Zach and the younger sister Hannah. Little Wood performed in school settings and sang in the choir. Noticing the giftedness and artistry of her youngest son, whom she jokingly called a "monkey," her mother arranged a seven-year-old Elijah at Avant Studios, the main modeling agency of their city. Only six months later, the young talent was noticed and invited to Los Angeles to participate in the international model conference. In the city of angels, the boy was appreciated, he had his own agent, as well as the role in the video of Paula Abdul. Soon the Woods family moved to Los Angeles on an ongoing basis, and little Elijah continued his career as an actor.
Movie debut
The filmography of Elijah Wood dates back to 1989, with a cameo in the popular science fiction film Back to the Future-2. Following were two more films with the same pass-through roles. Wood played a more or less significant character already in 1990 in Avalon, which was marked by the American Film Academy and received four Oscar nominations. Film critic Roger Ebert noted the little actor as the most talented of his age category. Another film of the same year, “Internal Investigation,” has already clearly proved that a young promising star named Elijah Wood appears in Hollywood. The filmography of this catching star in 1991 replenished with the first serious work in the melodrama Paradise, where Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith were his partners on the set . The role of the boy who connected the family was very impressive for the critics, and they spoke very warmly about Wood's work. Therefore, it is not surprising that a considerable number of various offers soon followed, and the young actor was not sitting without work.
Young star of the 90s
Since 1992, young talent has always been in demand. The filmography of Elijah Wood was actively replenished with new projects with world-class stars who worked with him on the same site. In “Forever Young”, Wood starred with Mel Gibson, in “War” in 1994 with Kevin Costner, and in “North” Bruce Willis appeared in the form of a big rabbit with a carrot, which, however, did not save the film from negative reviews critics and viewers. Also, the young actor starred in family and children's films, such as “Aspiring Up” (1992), “The Adventures of Huck Finn” (1993), “Flipper” (1996), “Oliver Twist” (1997) - all of them either did not receive fame , or were criticized to the nines. So it was with the thriller “Good Son” in 1993, where two of the most successful young actors of their generation played: Makaley Kalkin and Elijah Wood. Films of such a plan did not bring him much success and for the most part were not in demand, but critics for the good play invariably noted the young boy.
Status consolidation and worldwide fame
In 1998, the matured Wood began to get out of the usual genres and received leading roles in two science fiction films, "Clash with the Abyss" and "Faculty." Both projects were not designed for serious cinema, but focused on commercial success. And he did not keep himself waiting, and with him came popularity to a rising star named Elijah Wood. The filmography of the actor was replenished in 1999. The young man with big blue eyes sent his video to Peter Jackson himself for a casting for the role of Frodo Baggins in the upcoming film adaptation of Tolkien's “Lord of the Rings”. The director was impressed by the young talent and offered him a role. Is it worth clarifying that this role became crucial for the actor and made him famous all over the world? He literally woke up famous after the premiere of the first part in 2001. The next two films only approved Wood as a star. Between filming in a fantasy epic, Elijah Wood’s filmography has also been replenished with such films as “The Fools” (2000), “Day of Penance” (2001), “Seventeen” (2003) and even an episodic role in “Spy Kids 3: Game Over” . But they all could not be compared with the participation in the cult adaptation of the immortal Tolkien.
Career decline
Surprisingly, after the enormous success of The Lord of the Rings, offers did not pour on Wood, as if from a cornucopia, and they did not spoil him with the main roles. In 2004-2005, he appeared as secondary characters in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Hooligans and Sin City, received a major role in the independent project Light Around, and even voiced cartoons. The Penguin Mambla from Do It Feet and the computer game hero Spyro was voiced by the same person - Elijah Wood. Films with his participation, released in 2006-2010, were very diverse, the actor tried on new roles, starring in the author's movie, several episodes of various TV shows and short films. The most significant works of that period: “Bobby”, “Day of Zero”, “Murders at Oxford”.
New projects
The filmography of Elijah Wood begins to be updated only in 2011, when the arthouse series "Wilfred" was released on television with the blue-eyed actor in the title role, which was broadcast for four years. In 2012, two completely diverse films with the participation of Wood were released: the action-parody "Revenge for Jolly!" (in the Russian translation of "I Will Tear All") and the thriller "Maniac". Elijah also reincarnated in Frodo, however, not for long, just for a cameo in the first "Hobbit" in 2013. The usual image of an intellectual in a tuxedo and with styling has become in recent years the hallmark of an actor named Elijah Wood. Films of recent years that stand out in his work are “Grand Final” (2012), “Kutis” (2014), “Lighting the Stars” (2014), “Open Windows” (2014). He is actively involved in short films, as well as in the dubbing of animated films and animated series. In 2015, the actor delights fans with his participation in the large-scale project “The Last Witch Hunter” with Vin Diesel.
Under the heading "Secret"
Under the close attention of the tabloids, not only the career of the actors, but also their biography always falls. Elijah Wood, whose personal life is a mystery behind seven seals, was even suspected by the paparazzi for some time as an alternative. But cunning journalists learned that among his passions were actress Franca Potente, model Bijou Phillips and drummer of the band Gogol Boordello. With the latter, Wood had the longest romance, but the convinced bachelor did not want to go down the aisle, and the couple broke up. The most important woman of his life was and remains his mother, Debbie Wood. My father left the family in 1996 and returned to Iowa, because he was against his son’s acting career.