Elijah Wood on Frodo, Films, and Personal Life

TL;DR

Elijah Wood’s hobbit scale in The Lord of the Rings was created through compositing, scale doubles, forced perspective, altered positioning, and occasional stilt performers. He also discusses meeting Daniel Radcliffe, beginning with a tiny Back to the Future Part II role, keeping major Middle-earth props, collecting records, DJing with vinyl, enjoying pizza, and balancing acting with a private life.

Transcript

• Hi I'm Elijah Wood and I'm doing the Wired Autocomplete Interview. [upbeat music] [laughing] Why is Elijah Wood hot? What? I didn't know that I was and I don't know how to answer that question. But thanks. My parents? Have Daniel Radcliffe and Elijah Wood met? Yes. When we were doing ADR for one of The Lord of the Rings films and they were shooti... Read More

Key Insights

• Elijah Wood’s hobbit scale was created with multiple techniques, including blue-screen compositing, motion-controlled cameras, shorter scale doubles, forced perspective, kneeling, and carefully arranged actor positions. Performers on stilts in oversized costumes were also tested, but that method was largely abandoned because it was impractical.
• Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen filmed their shared scenes together, even when their characters needed to appear dramatically different in height. Camera placement and actor positioning created the illusion, although the performers sometimes could not make normal eye contact because they occupied different physical positions within the shot.
• Elijah Wood’s first screen work was a tiny role in Back to the Future Part II. He appeared as one of two children in the Cafe 80s who watch Michael J. Fox’s character play a gunslinger game and mock him because the game requires using his hands.
• Elijah Wood met Daniel Radcliffe while completing ADR for a Lord of the Rings film, when Prisoner of Azkaban was being filmed. Wood visited that production’s set and met Radcliffe there, but he does not recall meeting him again and is frequently mistaken for him.
• Elijah Wood kept several objects from The Lord of the Rings, including the One Ring, Sting, a pair of latex hobbit feet, and a production slate. He says the latex feet remain in good condition, preserving one of the distinctive physical elements used for his character.
• Elijah Wood’s DJing began casually during the Lord of the Rings period before he became more seriously involved with records years later. He values vinyl because its physical nature creates possible problems that demand immediate attention, making the performance active and keeping the DJ alert.
• Elijah Wood’s musical abilities are limited but supported by work-related training. He took singing lessons before auditioning for Moulin Rouge and learned enough staged keyboard movement for Grand Piano to place his hands correctly, although the experience did not substantially improve his actual piano playing.
• Elijah Wood’s personal interests include record collecting, occasional DJing, watching movies, and eating pizza. He and his girlfriend created a private film festival with friends to address a list of significant unseen movies, while pizza and frozen pizza remain especially prominent among his food preferences.

Questions & Answers

Q: How was Elijah Wood made to look small in The Lord of the Rings?

Elijah Wood was made to appear hobbit-sized through several complementary production methods. Some sequences were filmed without the hobbit actors, then recreated on a blue-screen stage with a motion-controlled camera so the actors could be composited into the shot. Other scenes used shorter scale doubles, forced perspective, kneeling, unusual actor placement, and briefly, stilt performers wearing oversized human costumes.

Q: Did Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen film their scenes together?

Elijah Wood says he and Ian McKellen filmed all their shared scenes together. The height illusion did not normally require separating them completely, but it changed how they were positioned for the camera. They sometimes could not look directly into each other’s eyes in the usual way, and Wood occasionally knelt or sat farther from the camera to appear smaller.

Q: What was Elijah Wood’s first movie role?

Elijah Wood’s first movie work was a very small role in Back to the Future Part II. He appears in the Cafe 80s as one of two children attempting to play a gunslinger game with a light gun. Michael J. Fox’s character demonstrates the game successfully, after which the children ridicule him because it requires players to use their hands.

Q: Has Elijah Wood met Daniel Radcliffe?

Elijah Wood met Daniel Radcliffe while Wood was doing ADR for one of The Lord of the Rings films and Prisoner of Azkaban was being filmed. Wood and others visited the Harry Potter set, where the meeting occurred. He does not know whether they met again afterward, although he is frequently asked whether he is Radcliffe and finds the confusion amusing.

Q: What props did Elijah Wood keep from The Lord of the Rings?

Elijah Wood kept several recognizable items connected to The Lord of the Rings. His collection includes the One Ring, Sting, a pair of latex hobbit feet, and a slate used during production. He specifically notes that the latex feet are still in good condition, giving him a preserved example of the prosthetic elements associated with his role as Frodo.

Q: Can Elijah Wood sing or play the piano?

Elijah Wood says he is not tone deaf and has been told that he can sing, but he lacks confidence and is shy about karaoke. He took singing lessons for a Moulin Rouge audition that required two songs. He also studied piano as a child and later learned convincing hand placement for Grand Piano without becoming a substantially better pianist.

Q: What does Elijah Wood do outside acting?

Elijah Wood collects records, occasionally DJs, watches movies, and spends time with his girlfriend and friends. He and his girlfriend assembled a list of significant films they had never seen, then created a personal film festival and invited friends. His interest in vinyl DJing comes partly from the physical format, which requires active attention when something goes wrong.

Q: Where did Elijah Wood grow up and attend college?

Elijah Wood was born in Iowa, moved to Los Angeles when he was seven, and says he grew up in California. He did not attend college, explaining that four years of his life were occupied by making the Middle-earth films. He also says he did not graduate from high school or obtain a GED, and explicitly advises others to graduate.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Elijah Wood answers common questions about his career, including his first tiny role in Back to the Future Part II and his later work as Frodo. He describes meeting Daniel Radcliffe during film production and says people frequently mistake him for Radcliffe, although the comparison amuses him and does not cause offense.

• The Lord of the Rings used several practical and visual techniques to make Wood appear hobbit-sized. These included blue-screen compositing with motion-controlled cameras, shorter scale doubles wearing character masks, forced perspective, performers on stilts, kneeling, and carefully positioning actors so different heights appeared convincing while preserving shared scenes.

• Wood describes interests and experiences beyond acting, including collecting records, DJing with vinyl, watching important films with friends, and searching supermarkets for unfamiliar frozen pizzas. He also discusses limited experience with singing, piano, manual-transmission cars, and card tricks, while clarifying details about his upbringing, education, heritage, handedness, and personal life.