Elijah Jordan Wood was born on January 28, 1981, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Warren and Debbie Wood. He has an older brother Zack and a younger sister Hannah Wood. Elijah owns two dogs, Rascal and Levonne. At an early age Elijah showed a knack for entertaining and wowing audiences, and his mother decided to take him to Los Angeles for an Annual International Modeling and Talent Association convention. He quickly landed himself an acting job. Soon he began popping up in commercials and then in small parts on television, but he got his first major part appearing in Avalon in 1990. His acting career took off from there, and he began appearing in films such as Paradise, Radio Flyer and Forever Young, with Mel Gibson. After The Good Son with Macaulay Culkin, Elijah appeared in North. Although the film was deemed a flop at the box office, Elijah was praised as the only good thing to come out of it. In 1996 Elijah starred in a movie remake of an old TV show, Flipper, and immediately regained his old strength. He appeared in countless films after that. Many critics wondered if his ability as a child actor to capture an audience was wearing thin, as had many child actors', but Elijah has proved that it has only made him stronger. Deep Impact and The Faculty were produced after that, and were quite successful. In 1999 Elijah was in three movies that never made it into wide release: The Bumblebee Flies Anyway (released on satellite TV), Black and White (released on home video) and Chain of Fools. Elijah next went to work on what has been called the biggest project ever to hit the movies, the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Try Seventeen (2002): $250,000
Melissa Joan Hart wanted him to play the male lead in Drive Me Crazy because she thought it would take some of the pressure off her in her first leading role. However, she was told that he looked too young next to her, and the role went to Adrian Grenier. Parents' names are Warren and Debbie Wood. Elijah has an older brother Zack (b. 1974) and a younger sister Hannah Wood (born 7th October 1983). Presented at Academy Awards in place of Macaulay Culkin. He was the first recipient of the NATO/ShoWest Young Star of the Year Award. He heard about the Lord of the Rings trilogy while filming The Faculty. Immediately, he sensed that this was the chance of a lifetime. Director George Huang, a personal friend of Wood's, filmed his audition tape for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. He shot the scene from different angles which were cut together for the video. They sent the video off to New Zealand for director Peter Jackson and a few months later, he got the part. Smashing Pumpkins is his favorite band. Owns one of two prop rings used in "Lord of the Rings." The other went to Andy Serkis, who played Gollum. Plays piano. As of December 2003, Elijah lived in a New York apartment with his sister Hannah Wood. However, within a few months he moved back into his mother's guest house in Santa Monica, California, where he lived previously, stating he couldn't justify the rent on the apartment since he spent so little time there. He became a child model when his mother wanted him to burn off excessive energy. Admits to owning thousands of CDs in many musical genres, because he loves music so much. Two of his favorite books are "The Hobbit" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." Is a fan of ex-Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan's new band, 'Zwan' . Considers Frodo Baggins to be his best role. Is the first member of the official "Lord of the Rings" fanclub. Studies singing professionally. Suffered acute appendicitis and was briefly hospitalized [August 2003] Aspires to start a record company. Wears clear contact lenses. [hearing that Sean Astin wanted to correct rumors that his character Sam Gamgee had a homosexual love for Frodo:] "Yeah, we've never had that perspective on the relationship, but there is a real bond and a real closeness. Which was easy for Sean and I because we became so close making the film. So it's a natural thing to display and to show and I think it comes across without any real effort ... Frodo really starts to fail physically and emotionally and mentally, so Sam is there to kind of pick up the pieces and show his affection for Frodo and really almost carry him to the end. So that relationship is really important in this film, particularly. ... I think it's really refreshing and nice. I'm really close with my friends and affectionate, and I don't think that there is anything suspicious about that, necessarily. So it's good to show it and have it be an unisexual thing, definitely." [The Toronto Star, December 12, 2003] Dressed up and rode on a float as the god of wine and mirth to head the Bacchus 2004 parade in New Orleans, Louisiana, for Mardi Gras in February, 2004. In the original book "The Lord of the Rings," Frodo is 50 years old when he leaves Bag End, which makes him the oldest of the four lead hobbits. Wood is actually the youngest of the four actors. Loves The Hives. His favorite movie is Harvey. His uncle is Turk E. Krause from the band Molly Nova and the Hawk. Each of the nine Fellowship members got the same tattoo: the number nine written in Elvish. Elijah's is just below his waist. Served as the Bacchus of the 2004 Mardi Gras Parade, and returned the next year. Received an injury under his eyebrow during the filming of Green Street Hooligans (aka "The Yank), leaving a visible scar. Favorite food is fried artichoke hearts dipped in ranch dressing. During the filming of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, he found a small restaurant that served him artichokes at least three times a week. Frequently attends the popular annual gaming convention known as E3 (Electronic Entertainment Exposition) which takes places in Los Angeles at the convention center. The week long event features all of the soon-to-be-released games and gaming systems and is open to those working in the gaming industry. In 2005, he started his own record label. His favorite music groups include Smashing Pumpkins, The Stone Roses, The Beatles, The Sundays, Black Sabbath and Verbena. Among his favorite actresses are Liza Minnelli and Vanessa Redgrave. Was number 75 on vh1's "100 Greatest Kid Stars." Roger Ebert called him "The most talented actor in his age group in Hollywood history.". Was ranked #16 in E's 50 cutest child stars all grown up (2005). Godzilla is his least favorite movie. His family owned a deli which they sold so they could move to California.