Elijah Wood Biography

Elijah Wood was born on 28 January 1981, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA, to Warren and Debra Wood. His parents ran a delicatessen. The second-born child of the family, Elijah has two siblings, a brother named Zachariah and sister Hannah.

He comes from a mixed ancestry of English, German, Austrian, and Danish. He was raised Roman Catholic.

Right from an early age, he showed signs that made his parents believe that he would grow up to become a performer. He started modeling at the age of seven and took piano lessons to polish his musical abilities.

It was during his years at the elementary school that he appeared in ‘The Sound of Music’ and played the titular character in ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.’ He even served as a choir member in the production of ‘See How They Run.’

Impressed by Elijah Wood's talent and acting abilities, his family shifted base to Los Angeles, hoping the city would provide him with better opportunities and exposure. He registered for the ‘International Modeling and Talent Association’ annual convention.

In 1989, Elijah Wood got his first big break as a model as he appeared in Paula Abdul’s music video ‘Forever Your Girl.’ This was soon followed by his debut role in the TV film ‘Child in the Night’ and a minor role in ‘Back to the Future Part II.’

His first major film role came in 1990 when he was cast to play the role of Aidan Quinn’s character’s son in ‘Avalon.’ The movie received much acclaim and so did his amazing performance. The film went on to obtain four ‘Academy Awards’ nominations.

‘Avalon’ received critical acclaim and made him one of the most sought-after child actors. He started receiving various offers, such as roles in ‘Internal Affairs’ and ‘Paradise.’ In the latter, he played the character of a young boy who unites an estranged couple. He followed this up with roles in ‘Forever Young’ and ‘Radio Flyer.’

His performance and the will to improve his skills helped him land roles in films, such as ‘The Adventures of Huck Finn,’ ‘The Good Son,’ ‘The War,’ and ‘North.’ For his portrayal of ‘North’ in ‘North,’ he received critical acclaim.

Thanks to his versatility and talent, Elijah Wood had a smooth transition from a child actor to mainstream lead actor. He played important roles in various films, such as ‘The Ice Storm,’ ‘Oliver Twist,’ ‘Deep Impact,’ ‘The Faculty,’ ‘Black and White,’ and ‘Chain of Fools.’

His popularity increased when he landed the lead role of ‘Frodo Baggins’ in Peter Jackson's film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's novel ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.’ Despite performing in a multi-cast film, his performance was noticed and received much acclaim.

He went on to reprise his role in the other two films of the trilogy: ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.’ ‘The Lord of the Rings’ went on to become one of the most successful film franchises in the history of Hollywood.

Meanwhile, while working on the trilogy, he voiced ‘Tom Thumb’ in the direct-to-video release of ‘The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina.’ Furthermore, he also starred in the direct-to-video movie ‘All I Want.’

Riding on the back of the astronomical success of the trilogy, Elijah Wood landed several other projects and continued to deliver impressive performances in films, such as ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,’ ‘Sin City,’ ‘Everything Is Illuminated,’ and ‘Green Street.’ These films garnered much acclaim, both critically and commercially.

He followed them up with ‘Bobby’ and ‘Day Zero.’ He even voiced the character of ‘Mumble’ in the animation film ‘Happy Feet,’ which went on to win an ‘Academy Award’ and ‘BAFTA’ for ‘Best Animated Feature.’ He also voiced the lead character in the animated feature film version of the short film ‘9.’

Other than appearing in films, heElijah Wood also appears in TV series; his role as ‘Ryan Newman’ in the FX series ‘Wilfred’ earned him critical acclaim. He even starred in Beastie Boys’ music video ‘Make Some Noise’ along with Seth Rogen and Danny McBride.

He even ventured into the music industry with the launch of his own record label ‘Simian Records.’ The first band to record under the label was ‘The Apples in Stereo,’ which came up with the album ‘New Magnetic Wonder.’ Other bands to record under the label include ‘Heloise’ and ‘Savoir Faire.’

In addition to voicing film characters, he has also voiced video game characters, such as ‘Spyro the Dragon’ in the ‘Legend of Spyro’ game trilogy and ‘Mumble’ in the game version of ‘Happy Feet.’

In 2010, along with Daniel Noah and Josh C. Waller, he founded ‘The Woodshed,’ a production company that promotes horror films. In 2013, the company was rebranded as ‘SpectreVision.’

He reprised his voice role as ‘Mumble’ in ‘Happy Feet Two.’ He also reprised his role as ‘Frodo Baggins’ in Peter Jackson’s epic fantasy film ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,’ which was nominated for three ‘Academy Awards.’

His career saw a downfall when he became part of some critical and commercial failures, such as ‘Pawn Shop Chronicles,’ ‘Cooties,’ ‘Open Windows,’ ‘Set Fire to the Stars,’ and ‘The Boy.’

He was cast alongside Vin Diesel in the dark fantasy action film ‘The Last Witch Hunter,’ which went on to become a box-office hit but failed to impress the critics. He co-starred alongside Nicolas Cage in the black comedy film ‘The Trust.’

Subsequently, Elijah Wood was seen in critically acclaimed movies like ‘I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore’ and ‘Come to Daddy.’

Over the years, Elijah Wood has had recurring roles in various TV series, such as ‘Tron: Uprising,’ ‘Over the Garden Wall,’ ‘Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency,’ and ‘Star Wars Resistance.’ In 2019, he was seen as ‘Percy Shelley / John C. Raines’ in a couple of episodes of an educational comedy television series titled ‘Drunk History.’

Elijah Wood is in a relationship with Danish film-producer, Mette-Marie Kongsved, since 2016. The couple welcomed their first child in 2019.

He is an active humanitarian and works closely with several charities. He has supported nonprofit organizations, such as ‘Keep a Child Alive’ and ‘Youth AIDS.’

In the aftermath of the earthquake that disrupted life in Chile in February 2010, he visited the towns of Chile and met the victims of the tragedy along with the First Lady of Chile, Cecilia Morel.