Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor. Acting since the age of eight, Wood is best known for the role of Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Making his film debut with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II (1989), Wood landed a succession of subsequent larger roles, and became a critically acclaimed child actor. After his role as Frodo in The Lord of the Rings, Wood has resisted typecasting by choosing varied roles in critically-acclaimed films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sin City and Everything Is Illuminated. Most recently he starred in ensemble film Bobby and provided the voice of the main character in award-winning animated film Happy Feet. He also played an American tourist turned vampire in Paris, je t'aime. In 2005, he started his own record label.Wood likes to keep his personal life away from the media spotlight, and is particularly private about his romantic relationships. However, it is known that in 2002 he dated the German actress Franka Potente, the relationship ending later that year. Wood blamed the separation on age difference and distance. He still wears a ring Potente gave him, which bears a Hebrew inscription meaning 'if not now, when?', a quote from Hillel the Elder. Wood was also rumored to have dated Bijou Phillips, his co-star in Black And White, but in September 2005, he told Howard Stern that the rumor was untrue. Currently, he is dating Gogol Bordello's backup dancer Pamela Racine; the relationship began sometime after they met on the set of Everything Is Illuminated in 2004.
In an interview about Everything Is Illuminated, director Liev Schreiber commented that Wood has a "generosity of spirit" and a "sincere goodness as a human being." He also has supported several campaigns for charity as Keep a Child Alive or ALDO/YouthAIDS In addition to charity work, Wood is a known music buff who admits to owning something in the range of 3,000 CDs, and once cited his favorite band as The Smashing Pumpkins. His personal playlist of favorite songs can be accessed on iTunes.
He has a tattoo of the Elvish word for nine, to commemorate playing a member of the Fellowship in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, just below his waist on the right side. In 2003, he suffered an acute appendicitis and had to stay in the hospital for two weeks.
In May 2006, Autograph Collector Magazine published its list of 10 Best & 10 Worst Hollywood Signers, Wood was ranked #7 on the list of Best Signers. Wood has, on occasion, been mistaken for Tobey Maguire and Daniel Radcliffe.
He smokes clove cigarettes - a habit he picked up from his The Faculty co-star Josh Hartnett.
