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Elijah Wood
FILMOGRAPHY (ONLY REVIEWED ENTRIES)
Elijah Wood started his career with a handful of smaller roles in the late 1980s, appearing first in a one-scene part in Back to the Future Part II, before garnering attention as the son of Aidan Quinn in Barry Levinson's Avalon and of crooked cop William Baldwin in Internal Affairs. He was quickly noticed for his remarkable authenticity in conveying both vulnerability and intensity at such a young age, which led to his first major role in Paradise (1991), where he excelled alongside young co-star Thora Birch. Not only did he hold his own opposite Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson (who played his parents), but he even outshone them. It was an outstanding performance for which he received his second Young Artist Award nomination, as well as a nomination for Most Promising Actor from the Chicago Film Critics Association. The next few years were a tour de force of fine performances for Wood, who at the time was dubbed "the most talented actor in his age group in Hollywood history" by Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert. The young actor displayed depth in Richard Donner's exceptional Radio Flyer (1992), vivacious charm in the title role of Disney's The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993), and emotional maturity in Jon Avnet's underappreciated The War. For Radio Flyer, he won the Young Artist Award – for which he was nominated a total of six times. 1996 marked a shift for Wood, who with Flipper transitioned to adolescent roles. Like many talented child actors, he needed some time to adjust and create a new screen persona, though films like Ang Lee's The Ice Storm (1997) helped him along. That same year, he also portrayed the Artful Dodger in the TV movie Oliver Twist, and followed it up with a respectable turn in the disaster film Deep Impact alongside Morgan Freeman and Robert Duvall. He closed out the decade with strong performances in the horror film The Faculty and the acclaimed indie The Bumblebee Flies Anyway (both 1998). Two years later, Wood went from well-known talent to global superstar after being cast as Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. And both new and longtime fans of Tolkien's books praised Wood for his devoted, emotionally layered rendition of Frodo. In the years following his newfound fame, Wood has often gravitated towards independent films. While he may not be blessed with the conventional looks or physical presence of a traditional movie star, he has the versatility, intelligence, and sensitivity to carve out a long and significant career in cinema.
"'Paradise' does have real qualities. Two of them are the kids, played by Elijah Wood and Thora Birch with strong, simple charm." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, on Paradise. "As Mike and Bobby, Wood (Paradise) and Joseph Mazzello are excellent." - Leah Rozen, People Magazine, on Radio Flyer. "Wood is an almost scarily accomplished little pro." - Jay Carr, Boston Globe, December 16, 1992, on Forever Young. "Elijah Wood brings a naturalness to his acting that at times is completely disarming. Perhaps Mel Gibson should have paid more attention to the familiar adage that actors should never work with animals or children because they are likely to be upstaged. As he did in Radio Flyer (1992), Wood manages to evoke all the right emotions, furthering the story as a result. His performance is in direct contrast to the rather uneven acting of Gibson, who treats some of the more dramatic moments with inappropriate lightness. Since Wood can clearly hold his own with such a seasoned professional as Gibson, Wood's career as an actor is assured." - Richard Cormack, Prodigy Online Services, on Forever Young. "Good-hearted Huck is the most engaging urchin in American literature, and in scamp-and-a-half Elijah Wood he comes to life more than he ever has before.... Not even Mickey Rooney and Jackie Coogan, who starred in two of the earlier versions, captured the spunk and the spirit of the boy who wouldn't be civilized in quite the way Wood has.... With a face lively even in repose and eyes like great dark saucers, Wood displays more of an irrepressible imp persona than he showed in 'Avalon' and 'Radio Flyer'. Yet it is not just his wholehearted relish for pranksterism that sets this Huck apart, it is his air of capability and self-possession. This is one small boy whose survival on his own is not at all hard to believe." - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times, April 2, 1993, on The Adventures of Huck Finn. "Huck is played by Elijah Wood, from 'Radio Flyer' and 'Forever Young', who mercifully seems free of cuteness and other afflictions of child stars, and makes a resolute, convincing, Huck." -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, April 2, 1993, on The Adventures of Huck Finn. "[Elijah Wood is] a talented young actor who acquits himself well even under these dire circumstances." - James Verniere, The Boston Herald, September 24, 1993, on The Good Son. "Second-billed Wood is a far better actor [than Macaulay Culkin], and his scenes with Culkin bring the child star's limitations into painful relief." - CineBooks Motion Picture Guide, on The Good Son. "Mr. Wood is currently the most natural, confident child actor of his generation... He's very likable throughout, and Mr. Reiner has surrounded him with a good deal of comic relief." -Janet Maslin, New York Times, July 22, 1994, on The War. "Elijah Wood has emerged, in my opinion, as the most talented actor in his age group in Hollywood history." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, on The War. "Elijah Wood--that terrific little actor--has the spunk and fury to make Stu into more than just a peacenik. ...His performance resembles a champion swimmer paddling through heavy molasses." - Peter Rainer, The Los Angeles Times, November 4, 1994, on The War. "The most satisfaction the movie offers is the spectacular acting of Wood, 13, who is the best under-20 actor since Freddie Bartholomew." - Ralph Novak, People Magazine, on The War. "Elijah Wood confirms his standing as the foremost actor of his generation. ...Wood acts so eloquently with his sentient face and searching eyes that his job becomes one of concealing how redundant his spoken lines are - a tricky job he largely is able to bring off commendably." - Jay Carr, The Boston Globe, on The War. "In Jon Avnet's mesmerizing 'The War', young Master Wood is giving acting lessons all around.... I prefer to ponder the wonder of Elijah Wood, who manages to bring tremendous restraint - an inner simmering - to a role that, with a lesser actor, could have gone out of control.... Sometimes a great performance is just a onetime occurrence, and sometimes it is a flash of things to come. Right now, Wood is blinding us." - Rod Lurie, Los Angeles Magazine, on The War. "Young Wood is an exceptionally talented actor; his career is likely to survive both The War and the disastrous North." - CineBooks Motion Picture Guide, on The War.
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