Biography
Elijah Wood found early fame as a child actor before becoming a lasting part of film history by playing Frodo Baggins in the acclaimed "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he relocated to Los Angeles as a youngster in order to break into acting. He made his film debut with a small part in "Back to the Future II" (1989) and had a small supporting role in the Richard Gere drama "Internal Affairs" (1990). He soon starred with JoBeth Williams and Tom Skerritt in the TV movie "Child in the Night" (CBS, 1990) as a young murder witness. His film roles quickly expanded with sizable parts in Barry Levinson's "Avalon" (1990), the Don Johnson-Melanie Griffith drama "Paradise" (1991), and Richard Donner's "Radio Flyer" (1992). He went on to star with Mel Gibson and Jamie Lee Curtis in the J.J. Abrams-penned "Forever Young" (1992). After starring in the Disney remake of "The Adventures of Huck Finn" (1993), Wood was firmly established as a screen actor. He joined Macaulay Caulkin for the thriller "The Good Son" (1993) and played the namesake character in Rob Reiner's fantasy "North" (1994). He appeared as Kevin Costner's son in "The War" (1994) and starred alongside Paul Hogan in a big screen remake of the 1960s television show "Flipper" (1996). He then joined fellow young stars Tobey Maguire and Christina Ricci in Ang Lee's family drama "The Ice Storm" (1997). While the actor's main recognition came from the big screen, he did make occasional TV appearances on shows like "Frasier" (NBC, 1993-2004) and "The Wonderful World of Disney" (ABC, 1997- ). He joined an all-star cast for the big budget disaster film "Deep Impact" (1998), but then started moving into more mature roles with an appearance in James Toback's indie drama "Black & White" (1999). His transition to adulthood was aided significantly when Peter Jackson cast the actor as J.R.R. Tolkien's hobbit hero Frodo Baggins for "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings" (2001). The film was a hit with audiences and critics alike. Wood went on to star in the two other legs of the trilogy "The Two Towers" (2002) and "The Return of the King" (2003), the latter of which earned 11 Academy Awards. Outside of the "Lord of the Rings" films, he appeared in Robert Rodriguez's "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over" (2003) and with Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004). He would team with Rodriguez again for the stylish noir thriller "Sin City" (2005). He also starred in Liev Schrieber's film adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer's novel "Everything is Illuminated" (2005) and joined an all-star cast for Emilio Estevez's "Bobby" (2006). He then starred in the drama "Day Zero" (2007) and the thriller "The Oxford Murders" (2008). He went to television for the cult hit "Wilfred" (FX, 2011-14) playing a man who interacts with his neighbor's dog, who he sees as a man in a canine costume. On the big screen, he starred with Vin Diesel in "The Last Witch Hunter" (2015) and Nicolas Cage in "The Trust" (2016). He joined Melanie Lynskey for the streaming movie "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore" (2017). He then returned to television for "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" (BBC America, 2016-17) based on the Douglas Adams novel. Wood later starred in the comic thriller "Come to Daddy" (2019).
