Elijah Wood: Leaving Middle Earth Behind

Participating in 'The Lord of the Rings' saga has been a defining career move for talented actor, since age 5, Elijah Wood. From age 18 to 23, he played one of the most well-known characters of classic literature and it has made its mark on him personally. He's made lasting friendships among the "Fellowship" and with director Peter Jackson, the rest of the cast and many of the crew. Elijah is not quite ready to leave it all behind but knows he must at some point. At present, the actor is still consumed, much as Frodo was, with Ring Fever. We looked into those huge blue eyes in a recent interview as Elijah spilled the details of shooting and living so long in Middle Earth.

TeenHollywood: Is it true that you keep the original first ring prop?

Elijah: I've got one of the rings. I can't confirm whether it's the original. There are a lot of originals. It was a gift from Peter. I opened up this box and it had another small box in it, and there was the ring and the pouch. I've got it at home. At the moment, it's in a box in a box in a box. I won't display it, I don't think. I think I'll keep it away, just as Bilbo had, just as Frodo did.

TeenHollywood: Can you talk about how you developed the character of Frodo as he goes along?

Elijah: In some ways it was done in real time over 16 months, but we were shooting so out of sequence that we'd be doing something from film 1 one day and film 3 the next. We had discussions about Frodo's journey before we started the film. So I had a very basic outline as to how he was meant to descend throughout the course of the journey. You would approach every scene with the thought of, 'OK, where on the journey are we now?' and 'How much has the ring deteriorated Frodo?' 'How exhausted is he at this point?' There would be discussions with Pete about the makeup at this specific point. Is he gonna be more torn-looking and so on. After we established the very defining moments in his evolution, it became easier to then bounce around, because I kind of became very familiar with the Frodo in 3 and the Frodo in 2 and the Frodo in 1.

TeenHollywood: How has this massive project affected your life? Obviously it's turned you from a kid actor to a major movie icon.

Elijah: My daily life hasn't really changed all that much. But, pretty much everywhere I go, I'm recognized. And it's also made it easier for me to continue doing what I'm doing. There are more opportunities open to me, which is great. It was an incredible life experience that is unlike any we've ever had or ever will have again -- that of an extended family of incredible friends that was made for life. You know, living in New Zealand and what that did to all of us. It's such an incredibly beautiful place that I think taught us all so much about the good and the pure of the world.

TeenHollywood: Do you think about where these films fit in movie history or in pop culture?

Elijah: It's something that I certainly acknowledge. It's wild to think of it in those terms. It was such an intimate, intense project in New Zealand for the last four years. That it will go down in movie history is pretty wild. I went to Virgin Megastore the other day to get the Beatles' "Let It Be... Naked." And I saw 'The Two Towers' special edition. I hadn't even realized it came out. There I was. I'm in the movie and I'm like, 'Wow, it came out! F*****g awesome!' And the only thing that kept me from buying it was the realization that of course they're gonna send me a copy. But I was like, 'I kinda wanna get it now!'.

TeenHollywood: Okay, now you're Frodo. Do you worry about being typecast?

Elijah: I think it is of its own world. And the character's not overly specific to a genre, I don't think, either. These characters are very human characters. I think it's iconic because these movies are so huge. But beyond that, I think it'll be in its own world and people will see it that way. I think as long as I keep working on other things and balance it out with other roles...In fact, I've not even gotten one fantasy script, which is great. Next I'm in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I play a technician who works for a company who erases people's memories.

TeenHollywood: Let's talk toys. Do you like them and what do you have from the films?

Elijah: I love the figures. I collect toys myself, so to be able to actually have a toy of myself is exciting. The first Frodo is probably the first one, just because it's the very classic image of Frodo. I have all the action figures, 'Lord of the Rings' puzzles. I've got 'Lord of the Rings' up the wazoo.

TeenHollywood: Is there a Hobbit Pack? Like the 1980's Brat Pack? Do you guys hang out?

Elijah: Yeah, yeah. I mean, they're some of my best friends, those guys. But we're not always in the same country, the same city. So it's not always the three of us. Sean doesn't hang out with us so much because he's got a family, and that was always a part of it. But certainly Dom and Bill, yeah, definitely. Love those guys. I'm almost more close to Sean because of what we experienced. It's a different type of closeness. I mean, we're like brothers after what we went through together. I think our journey was very much that of Frodo and Sam. We kind of relied on each other and helped each other through and literally spent every day together for months and months on end. And these are people I will know for the rest of my life, so it is a real wonderful benefit to having worked on something like this.

TeenHollywood: How did you handle being barefoot with furry toes all that time?

Elijah: (laughs) I think my feet were at their healthiest in New Zealand. They've gone considerably downhill since the films. I mean, they were pampered, man. I had to put these feet on every day, so at the end of every day they'd be bathed and powdered and massaged.

TeenHollywood: Did you go out with the hobbit feet on?

Elijah: No. Viggo went out with his sword quite a lot. He went out with his sword and at one point with his Strider jacket.

TeenHollywood: What did you discover about yourself through this journey?

Elijah: I think that the journey that I went through as a human being working on these movies, like the journey that Frodo has- - it's kind of prepared me for anything in life and made me a stronger human being I think and maybe a more courageous human being. Maybe I did inadvertently learn that from Frodo, but it's also from the experience as well.

TeenHollywood: How did you handle your last day on this last film?

Elijah: I couldn't really come to terms with it. I couldn't believe it after four years, that it was all coming to an end. My last day, I was completely drained. I had knots in my stomach all day, and it came time to do my last shot where Frodo is writing the last bit of the book and Sam comes and says, 'it's all over,' and Frodo says 'no, there's room for a little more,' and it had this whole meaning tied into it. That's the last shot! Everybody came on to see it, and I remember we did five or six takes, I don't know how many we did, and they checked the gate, and Peter came over to me and broke down, like gave me a hug and broke down on my shoulder. It was so, so sad. Everybody was crying.

TeenHollywood: We hear they presented each cast member with presents when they left?

Elijah: They gave us each a farewell after our last day, so every actor had a farewell party where Peter would give a speech to the crew, the whole crew, which was amazing, and so emotional. The whole crew would stand around and each actor was given the last clapper for the last take of the last shot they were in, and they were given gifts like each was given their signature weapons. I was given Sting and the last pair of feet that I wore, and I bet they smell like shit now. I haven't opened the box in quite some time.

TeenHollywood: Do you become a regular filmgoer when you watch the films?

Elijah: Oh yeah. I think there's a subconscious remembrance of all of those things in terms of the filming, but when you see the movie you kind of forget about all of that. You kind of let go. The beauty of the way that the movies transpire. My character is only one amongst a massive group of other actors so my journey is a small part so there's a lot of material that I'm so unfamiliar with because I was so focused on my journey.

TeenHollywood: Will Peter Jackson finally get an Oscar for directing these films?

Elijah: It would be a shame if he wasn't acknowledged. No one has ever done anything quite like this before in cinema. To simply adapt those books and make them into films in and of itself is an incredibly difficult thing but to have done it so well and in such a beautiful way is amazing. I think Best Picture is one thing, I'd rather Peter be acknowledged. The thing about him that's amazing is that he creates a creative environment that is very collaborative with everyone, and I've never felt more welcome to the full fabric of a film in my life. And that was a great honor.

***

Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.