Born January 28, 1981 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Elijah Wood is an actor best known for his role as Frodo Baggins in the hugely popular The Lord of the Rings trilogy, among other varied roles. The son of two delicatessen operators, he has English, Irish, German, and Polish roots, and was raised a Catholic. He took piano lessons as a child and got his first taste of theater in his elementary school’s staging of The Sound of Music. He moved up with the title character in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. He then served as a choir boy for a production of See How They Run.
Elijah Wood’s foray into the entertainment industry began with modeling stints and some local commercials. He moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1988 when he was barely 7. His first major break came in a Paula Abdul music video for the song “Forever Your Girl.” This lead to an almost instant film role in the movie Back to the Future Part II in 1989. Yet what gave the young actor notice was partaking in a movie that received multiply Academy nominations, Avalon in 1990. This was followed by a small part in the Richard Gere crime thriller Internal Affairs the same year. His first starring role came in 1997 when he was just 10 years old with Paradise, and some said his performance was among the best qualities of the film. His other film credits from then on include Forever Young, Radio Flyer, The Good Son, and the lead in The Adventures of Huck Finn and The War, where he was nominated for a Young Star Award. This lead to even more films, such as North, Flipper, The Ice Storm, Oliver Twist, Deep Impact, The Faculty, Black and White, and Chain of Fools.
Elijah Wood gained unprecedented popularity with his role as the central hobbit in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, beginning with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001. He reprised the same role the following year with The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and again in 2003 with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. His post-Frodo works include Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sin City, and the animated feature Happy Feet.