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Elijah Wood beyond the Ring

With the humility of great actors, Elijah Wood meets us in the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills without bodyguards or personal assistants, even though the doors were kept closed to deter eager fans. With fresh memories of The Lord of the Rings, he immediately lets out that famous phrase from the movie -- "One Ring to Rule Them All" -- when he realizes that I have my wedding ring hanging from my neck.

We later talked about women, new projects or different stages in his career, but to begin the interview around Oscar times, the ring theme was the only route to take.

Fabian Waintal: It's next to impossible to ask the first question without referring to the The Lord of the Rings and the 11 Oscars received in 2004. What was your reaction to all those awards?

Elijah Wood: The truth is, it was really beyond words. It was an incredible experience for all of us. What made it so special is that a lot of people from New Zealand that had worked with us in the movie were present. So it was quite a big group of us at the Awards. I sat there with the other three "hobbits." Ian McKellen with Liv Tyler were in front of me and Peter (Jackson), the director, was behind us. It just felt like part of the family was there to share in the experience.

FW: Was it a surprise to win so many awards at the Oscars?

EW: Yes. The huge surprise was that we had won the 11 nominations. The fact that we swept was a huge surprise. A lot of people think I am crazy for saying that, but as good as I thought our chances were of winning some of the major awards, I don't think any of us anticipated taking every single one of them and turning the Academy Awards into The Lord of the Rings show. As proud as we were or as happy as we were in the end, we all kind of felt like we somehow turned into the villains of the evening.

My mom was an inspiration for me to become an actor because she saw it as a channel for the energy I had as a kid.

-- Elijah Wood

FW: Can you imagine the possibility of winning the 12th Oscar, in the Best Actor category, if you had been nominated?

EW: No, not really. It didn't really occur to me. We had come so far over such a long period of time that for the movie to be acknowledged that way was of the utmost importance. Certainly not in my mind was there ever any kind of regret that the actors weren't acknowledged and that I personally wasn't acknowledged (with an Oscar). I was so proud and so happy for everyone else

We all kind of shared it, we were all a part in that experience of making those movies too and also we were responsible for that film. And being asked by Peter (Jackson) to get up on stage we were able to take ownership of that award somehow in a small way, as well.

FW: How were the festivities after the Academy Awards?

EW: It was great. I spent my entire evening in terms of parties at the onering.net fan party, mainly because we had a friend of ours playing at the show, this band called World Without Sundays. I had to get there early, to introduce the band. So we left the official Governor's Ball party right away. We were able to invite our friends, and I really didn't want to leave the party to go to the other ones like Vanity Fair, because they couldn't come with us. It was the best, very surreal.

FW: You also filmed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with Kate Winslet, who ironically starred in the other movie that received 11 Oscars, Titanic?

EW: That's right, yes.

FW: Did you talk about that, when you were filming and your future as a big movie star?

EW: Not really. With Kate (Winslet) we talked about her experiences making Titanic and my experiences making The Lord of the Rings and also our connection with the director, Peter Jackson, and the fact that her first movie was with him.

We certainly shared that in common as well. But not really in terms of both being a part of huge movies.

FW: How do you act towards other movie stars?

EW: We behave like colleagues, and there is no ego on the set at all. When a film works out to be a good environment, at its best, it is an environment comprised of equals, who are all there to work and make the best film they possibly can. There is sort of a family atmosphere, without any ego present, or any sense of big-time Hollywood actors.

FW: Do you notice that the offers you get are different now? Is there a before and after The Lord of the Rings?

EW: Now, for me, it is much easier to get certain roles, which is wonderful. That is one of the things that comes along with a certain level of fame or a certain level of recognizability. That's a real bonus, because it allows me to progress in what I do. I may be offered something that I wouldn't be offered before and I would have had to audition multiple times. There are more opportunities, sure.

FW: Is there any special moment that you remember from the beginning of your career?

EW: One of my earliest memories is meeting Paula Abdul on the set of my first job, which was one of her music videos. That was literally my first memory of work.

Years later, I realized that the video was directed by the director of the movie Seven and at that time I had no idea who he was. But I remember meeting Paula Abdul and being really excited. I was 8 years old and her music was cool at the time.

FW: Is it true that your mother got you started in this business, first as a model, because of your boundless energy?

EW: Yes. Essentially, my mom was an inspiration for me to become an actor because she saw it as a channel for the energy I had as a kid. She looked for a way to channel my energy, when I was young.

FW: What kind of energy? Bad behavior?

EW: No, no. Good energy, love for life and I just had a lot of energy, and a capacity to go and go and go. She just thought it would be fun for me to do commercials and then it became films. But I never would have imagined the future, because things came together little by little.

On Jan. 28, he turned 25 years old, but Wood only last December moved out of his mother Debbie's house and headed to New York with his sister Hanna, 22. That independence didn't last very long. "I was renting that apartment and in the end I never used it," Wood said. "So I went back to Los Angeles to live with my mother again." His parents divorced 10 years ago and with the success of the first version of The Lord of the Rings he also was reunited with his father, Warren Wood, who still lives in the city where Elijah was born, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

FW: What do you think would happen if someone erased your memory of The Lord of the Rings?

EW: I would be a vastly different person today had The Lord of the Rings been erased from my memory. I don't know how to describe that or how I would be different. The films and especially the experience of making those movies, and working with those people have had such an impact on me, as a human being, and living in New Zealand for that length of time as well.

So if I were robbed of that memory, there is so much experience within that, that has sort of built me as a human being.

FW: Any new tattoos?

EW: No. I would love to get another one but I don't want to get it just to get a tattoo. It always has to be something significant or special. I have yet to find a reason to get one.

FW: So you just keep the one tattoo from The Lord of the Rings?

EW: Yes. That is the only one.

FW: When you start with one, isn't it hard not to be tempted to get more on the rest of your body?

EW: It could get addictive. I know. That's why I just have one, for now.

FW: Would you mind telling those who don't know about it, how you got that tattoo for the movie?

EW: There are still some people who don't know about my tattoo? Oh my God! What rock do they live under? (Laughing)

It was kind of a special thing. It was something that we conceived, early on in the process. This idea that we would get a tattoo that would signify the experience we would go through. But there were some people who were reluctant to commit to it initially, because it was early days and we hadn't had the full breadth of the experience yet. So there was no way of knowing whether at the end of it if we would want a tattoo.

And then ultimately by the end of the movie, the idea came up again in a conversation and we all agreed. It was great, because the experience we had had was so profound. The sense of fellowship that we felt in reality was so realistic as well that it just made perfect sense to be branded for life, to remember always that experience that we had together.

FW: Do you still keep that sense of fellowship going on?

EW: Now it is slightly broken into pieces, but the connection that we all have together will last forever. Even though we may not be able to see each other every year, I think that bond will never die.

FW: Do people react different now when they see you in the street?

EW: People are driving by in their cars and rolling their windows down and yelling out "Congratulations." It happens a lot. It's hilarious.

FW: And women, how do they react?

EW: I don't think there is much difference in that sense. Probably more girls have come up to me than in the past but because they are fans or from having seen me in some movie

It isn't all that interesting.

FW: But is it easy to get girls being a movie star?

EW: Sure, if I want that kind of girl (He laughs).

FW: But don't they interest you?

EW: No (He laughs even harder). I always find that kind of funny when people think, "It would be so much easier to get girls when I am famous." I say, "Well, yes, but they are going to be with you because you are famous. So what's the point?" It's the same as if you weren't famous at all, but now you've just got girls who just want to sleep with you because you are famous. It can be fun, granted. But in terms of any kind of profound addition to your life ... You certainly aren't going to find it with fame.

FW: So if a woman wants to seduce you, she has to ignore your career?

EW: Probably, yes. She doesn't have to ignore my career but people reveal themselves very quickly. And those that are interested because of the fact that I am an actor, it is very obvious right away. And those who know it, talk about it but don't really care, then there is something behind that.

FW: Is that the reason why famous actors end up going out with other famous actors?

EW: Because they understand. There is a complete logic to that. I would date an actress because first she understands the fact that I have to travel so much and that my life is consumed by this job because her life is the same. And also there's no interest in me because I am famous; she might probably experience the same thing. There's something of a mutual interest there. But that has its own complications, as well.
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