Elijah Wood Was Overwhelmed After Seeing Fellowship of the Ring

Actor Elijah Wood says that he was overwhelmed after seeing The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring for the first time. Wood played Frodo in the film, as well as the other two book adaptations in the series, The Two Towers and The Return of the King. Directed by Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings trilogy adapts the original novels by J.R.R. Tolkien, which follow the journey of Frodo, a young Hobbit, who is entrusted to carry and eventually destroy a powerful ring, which in the wrong hands would enslave the world.

All three Lord of the Rings movies were filmed at once, which took up 438 days of Wood’s life, filmed entirely in New Zealand. Wood and his co-stars, including Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean, and John Rhys-Davies, formed a strong bond over the course of making the film; a kinship that has lasted ever since. The “Fellowship” group of actors even got matching tattoos during the making of the film, which is the word “nine” spelled in Elvish.

The experience of making the Lord of the Rings film was one thing, but seeing it for the first time was another altogether. Talking to Esquire, Wood says that watching The Fellowship of the Ring was “totally overwhelming,” and that he didn’t “know what to feel” after seeing it for the inaugural screening. The actor says he knew that he loved it, but “couldn’t process it” after just one sitting. He goes on to explain that it took all of his cast mates multiple views to finally soak it all in and appreciate the film for what it was.

“I remember all of us walking away kind of in a daze, sort of bowled over and overwhelmed and in love with it, but couldn’t make heads or tails until we saw it again. And I think that was just the enormity of it all and separating our personal experience from what it is, seeing it for what it is, an amazing experience. I certainly haven’t had that since.”

The Fellowship of the Ring went on to gross $897 million at the global box office, with both The Two Towers and The Return of The King pulling in $947 million and $1.1 billion, respectively. The Return of the King won 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Jackson. Since then, Wood has moved on to a successful career in genre films, such as Sin City, The Last Witch Hunter, and Maniac, while Jackson went on to direct another Tolkien trilogy with the Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit, which broke the single volume book down to three films.

While Wood hasn’t had a role anywhere near the cultural magnitude as Frodo since completing The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, he’s remained a steadfast presence in Hollywood, exploring his interests and talents in a multitude of projects, be it live-action, animation, or podcasts. He’ll next be seen in the remake of The Toxic Avenger in an undisclosed role. Regardless of what Wood does throughout his career, his Lord of the Rings days will always follow him around, which is one of the greatest marks of success for any actor, even if that success was completely unexpected. It’s the kind of role many actors dream about getting, and Wood has carried the experience of playing Frodo forward with pride.

Source: Esquire

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