Elijah Wood

Wood has been married to Danish film producer Mette-Marie Kongsved since 2024. They have two children, a son born in 2019 and a daughter born in 2022.

He moved to Los Angeles around 2020 after living in Austin, Texas, for five years.

Wood began modeling and taking piano lessons at age seven. He appeared in elementary-school productions of The Sound of Music and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and served as a choirboy in See How They Run. He also worked in regional commercials, print advertisements, and fashion shows.

His first screen appearance was in Paula Abdul's music video for "Forever Your Girl," directed by David Fincher. He then had a small role in Back to the Future Part II in 1989, followed by a pivotal part in Avalon (1990). His early film work included Paradise, Forever Young, Radio Flyer, The Adventures of Huck Finn, The Good Son, The War, North, Flipper, The Ice Storm, Deep Impact, and The Faculty.

Wood's performance in The War received strong critical praise. Roger Ebert called him the most talented actor in his age group in Hollywood history.

Wood achieved international recognition as Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), the first film in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's novels. He was selected from 150 actors who auditioned and became the first actor cast in the trilogy.

The films were shot in New Zealand, with principal photography lasting more than a year and additional pickup shooting continuing over the following four years. Wood reprised Frodo in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), and later returned to the character in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012).

Wood received the Empire Award for Best Actor in 2002 and shared a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture with the ensemble of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. He owns one of the prop rings used in the trilogy, while another was given to Andy Serkis, who played Gollum.

After The Lord of the Rings, Wood took roles in films including Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Sin City (2005), Everything Is Illuminated (2005), Green Street (2005), Bobby (2006), Grand Piano (2013), and I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017). He played the serial killer Kevin in Sin City and received the Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Actor for Maniac (2012).

Wood provided the voice of Mumble in Happy Feet (2006) and Happy Feet Two (2011), Spyro in The Legend of Spyro video-game trilogy, the lead character in the animated film 9 (2009), Beck in Tron: Uprising, and Wirt in the Cartoon Network miniseries Over the Garden Wall (2014). He also voiced characters in Broken Age and Psychonauts 2.

His first starring television role was Ryan Newman in the FX series Wilfred, which ran from 2011 to 2014. He later starred as Todd Brotzman in BBC America's Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency from 2016 to 2017 and played Walter in Yellowjackets from 2023 to 2025.

Wood founded the record label Simian Records in 2005. The label signed The Apples in Stereo as its first band and released the group's album New Magnetic Wonder in 2007. Wood also directed the music video for the band's song "Energy."

In 2010, Wood co-founded The Woodshed with Daniel Noah and Josh C. Waller to promote horror films. The company was rebranded as SpectreVision in 2014 and produced or backed genre projects including Cooties, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Mandy, Daniel Isn't Real, Color Out of Space, and No Man of God.

Wood is also a disc jockey. He formed the duo Wooden Wisdom with Zach Cowie, and the pair have toured internationally and performed at events including Bushmills Live and a pre-Emmy party in West Hollywood.