“I WISH THE RING HAD NEVER COME TO ME ”
~ Frodo Baggins ~
It is hard to find a person who knows nothing about Frodo Baggins . When we hear the name Mr.Baggins , a series of images would come automatically into our minds. But make sure you know about the actor who casted for Frodo Baggins . He is none other than Elijah Wood.
Elijah Wood is an American actor, voice-over artist, DJ and a producer. He was born on January 28, 1981 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the United States of America. When Zachariah Wood ; a video game producer and Hannah Wood ; a poet and an actress, became the oldest and the youngest, Elijah became the middle child of Warren and Debbie Wood who were Delicatessen Operators in their hometown. While having his primary education at St Patrick’s Catholic School at Arroyo Grande, he got an opportunity to be in the chorus of the annual festival of the school ; “The Sound Of Music”. Then the next year he auditioned for the main role in “The Wizard Of Oz” which was a part of “Hooray for Hollywood “. These performances made Elijah’s mother think that he would appear on television one day. So she enrolled him in “Avant Models & Talent” which is a modeling school in Cedar Rapids. After a year and a half, Elijah’s mother took him to an Annual International Modeling and Talent Association Convention where they met Gary Scalzo, a talent manager who was on the judge board and, being surprised by Elijah’s talents, he asked Elijah whether he wanted to be an actor.
Then Elijah and his family moved to Los Angeles where he was homeschooled and at the same time was enrolled in”Young Actors Space”, a talent academy and sharpened up his skills. Amidst all that, Gary Scalzo got a chance for Elijah to take part in Paul Abdul’s’ first music video production; “Forever Girl” as his first professional job. It led him to do small roles as,
- Michael J.Fox in Back To The Future || (1989)
- Richard Gere in International Affairs (1990)
- Avalon (1990)
By exploring his talents and skills Elijah started starring in “Radio Flyer ” (1992) which is a fantasy – tinged tale about child abuse which was followed by
- The Adventures of Huck Finn
- Oscar Winning
- Witness
- Showtime 30 – minute movie
Elijah’s co-star combination with Macauley Culkin , another child star in “The Good Son ” (1993), made his next few years fantastic and these productions are the evidence of his success.
- The North (1995)
- The War (1995)
- Flipper (1996)
- The Ice Storm (1997)
Being different from his fellow actors, Elijah appeared in more exploitative work than in romantic comedies and horror films. For example ” Deep Impact” and ” The Faculty” which came out in 1998 and ” Black and White” in 2000. Next comes his biggest achievement which is “Frodo Baggins”. Elijah’s skills in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of The Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring ” (2001) made that film a success and earned $66, 1M only within its opening week and ended up winning 4 Oscars all at once. This was a very good reason for Elijah Wood to appear in the next two series of the trilogy ; “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (2002) and ” The Lord of the Rings : Return of the King” (2003). Just like the first film ‘The Two Towers’ earned $62M in the opening week and ended up winning 2 Oscars. The real winner is ‘The Return of the King’ which won 11 Oscars. This was the biggest turning point of Elijah’s acting career and paved its way to;
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
- Sin City (2005)
- Chain of Fools
- All I Want
- Spy Kids 3 – 3D Game Over
- Green Street Hooligans
- Everything Is Illuminated
- Happy Feet (2006)
Apart from his acting career, Elijah Wood also produces DJ music and owns his own record label which is “Simian Records”. And also he founded a production company called ‘Woodshed’ which focuses on horror films but the company was renamed in 2013 as ‘SpectreVision’.
Being super talented, Elijah Wood owns a lot of awards related to many fields such as,
Interactive Arts and Sciences
- Interactive Achievement Award [Winner] (2004)
- Outstanding Achievement in Character Performance – Male
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror
- Saturn Award [Winner] (2004)
Best Actor - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
- Saturn Award [Nominee] (2003)
- Best Performance by a Younger Actor
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Circuit Community Awards,
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
- ACCA [Nominee] (2002)
Best Cast Ensemble - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
- ACCA [Winner] (2001)
Best Cast Ensemble - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Behind the Voice Acting Awards
- Broken Age (2014)
- BTVA Television Voice Acting Award [Nominee] (2015)
- Best Male Lead Vocal Performance in a Television Series – Comedy/Musical
- As the voice of “Wirt”.
- Over the Garden Wall (2014)
etc…
When it comes to his personal life, there were rumors that Elijah Wood is gay but they were proven wrong with his relationship with Mette – Marie Kongsved; the Danish film producer and they welcomed their very first child in 2020.
So , this multi talented American actor, Voice-over artist, and DJ celebrates his 41st Birthday today. He will always remain as the extraordinary Frodo Baggins forever in our hearts. Let’s wish him a very Happy Birthday and a successful life ahead!
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