Editing Elijah Wood (section)

===1988–1999: Early work===

Wood modeled and appeared in local commercials; his first appearance was in the music video for [[Paula Abdul]]'s "[[Forever Your Girl (song)|Forever Your Girl]]", directed by [[David Fincher]]. This was followed by a pivotal role in the made-for-TV film, ''[[Child in the Night]],'' and a minor role in ''[[Back to the Future Part II]]'', as a boy from a futuristic 2015 who teases [[Marty McFly]] ([[Michael J. Fox]]) for playing an arcade game because "you have to use your hands".<ref>{{cite news |last=Abramson |first=Andrew |date=November 20, 2013 |title=Forward to future; Post reporter sees Dolphins through Google glasses |url=https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/11/21/forward-to-future-post-reporter/7542596007/ |work=[[The Palm Beach Post]] |access-date=December 7, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207101152/https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/11/21/forward-to-future-post-reporter/7542596007/ |archive-date=December 7, 2022}}</ref> Nine-year-old Wood auditioned for a role in ''[[Kindergarten Cop]]'', but was told by director [[Ivan Reitman]] that his performance was not believable, which Wood later said was "a harsh thing to say to a nine-year-old."<ref>{{cite podcast |url=https://play.acast.com/s/mydadwroteaporno/footnotes-elijah-wood |title=Footnotes: Elijah Wood |website=[[My Dad Wrote a Porno]] |publisher=[[Acast]] |date=July 6, 2016 |access-date=August 19, 2021}}</ref>

Playing [[Aidan Quinn]]'s son in ''[[Avalon (1990 film)|Avalon]]'' garnered professional attention for Wood; the film received widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for four Academy Awards.<ref>{{cite news |last=King |first=Susan |date=October 6, 1990 |title=9-Year-Old Elijah Wood Learned About the Bees in 'Avalon' |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-10-06-ca-1279-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=February 7, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207151125/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-10-06-ca-1279-story.html |archive-date=February 7, 2020}}</ref> A small part in [[Richard Gere]]'s ''[[Internal Affairs (film)|Internal Affairs]]'' was followed by the role of a boy who brings estranged couple [[Melanie Griffith]] and [[Don Johnson]] back together in ''[[Paradise (1991 film)|Paradise]]'' (1991). In 1992, Wood co-starred with [[Mel Gibson]] and [[Jamie Lee Curtis]] in ''[[Forever Young (1992 film)|Forever Young]]'',<ref>{{cite news |last=Canby |first=Vincent |date=December 16, 1992 |title=Review/Film: Forever Young; Mel Gibson In a Vehicle For an Age Of Miracles |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/16/movies/review-film-forever-young-mel-gibson-in-a-vehicle-for-an-age-of-miracles.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=January 15, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526054814/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/16/movies/review-film-forever-young-mel-gibson-in-a-vehicle-for-an-age-of-miracles.html |archive-date=May 26, 2015}}</ref> and with [[Joseph Mazzello]] in ''[[Radio Flyer (film)|Radio Flyer]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Howe |first=Desson |date=February 21, 1992 |title='RADIO FLYER': SOARING SPIRIT |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1992/02/21/radio-flyer-soaring-spirit/149a1abb-65c8-4d85-b06e-dea28081fbcd/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=January 15, 2014}}</ref>

In 1993, Wood played the [[Huckleberry Finn|title character]] in [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]]'s adaptation of [[Mark Twain]]'s novel, ''[[The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993 film)|The Adventures of Huck Finn]]'', and co-starred with [[Macaulay Culkin]] in the [[psychological thriller]] ''[[The Good Son (film)|The Good Son]]''. The following year, he starred in ''[[The War (1994 film)|The War]]'', alongside [[Kevin Costner]]. Although the film received mostly negative reviews, Wood's performance earned praise.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Maslin |first1=Janet |author-link=Janet Maslin |date=4 November 1994 |title=FILM REVIEW; Family Values and Love in Vietnam Aftermath |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/04/movies/film-review-family-values-and-love-in-vietnam-aftermath.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=July 13, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Schwarzbaum |first=Lisa |author-link=Lisa Schwarzbaum |date=November 4, 1994 |title=Movie Review: 'The War' |url=https://ew.com/article/1994/11/04/movie-review-war/ |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=July 13, 2021}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]]'s review of the film praised Wood highly, stating that Wood "has emerged, I believe, as the most talented actor, in his age group, in Hollywood history."<ref>{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |title=The War Movie Review & Film Summary (1994)|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-war-1994 |access-date=January 15, 2014 |newspaper=[[Roger Ebert]] |date=November 4, 1994 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116112437/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-war-1994 |archive-date=January 16, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Wood's title role—opposite [[Bruce Willis]]—in the [[Robert Reiner]] film ''[[North (1994 film)|North]]'' (1994) was followed by a [[Super Bowl]] commercial for [[Lay's]] "Wavy" potato chips (with [[Dan Quayle]]).<ref>{{cite news |title=Wavy Lay's Super Bowl Commercial Finds Child Star Elijah Wood Waging 'Wavy Lay's Challenge' to Super Bowl Bound Troy Aikman |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/WAVY+LAY'S+SUPER+BOWL+COMMERCIAL+FINDS+CHILD+STAR+ELIJAH+WOOD+WAGING...-a014762894 |access-date=January 20, 2014 |newspaper=[[PR Newswire]] |date=January 27, 1994 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925122351/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/WAVY+LAY'S+SUPER+BOWL+COMMERCIAL+FINDS+CHILD+STAR+ELIJAH+WOOD+WAGING...-a014762894 |archive-date=September 25, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1995, Wood appeared in the music video for [[The Cranberries]]' "[[Ridiculous Thoughts]]",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cpr.org/2015/01/13/10-great-music-videos-featuring-celebrities/ |title=10 great music videos featuring celebrities |last=Sweeney |first=Alisha |date=January 13, 2015 |website=[[Colorado Public Radio]] |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref> played the lead role in ''[[Flipper (1996 film)|Flipper]]'', and co-starred in [[Ang Lee]]'s critically acclaimed ''[[The Ice Storm (film)|The Ice Storm]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/tv/elijah-wood-yellowjackets-season-2-christina-ricci-ice-storm-reunion/ |title=Elijah Wood joins Christina Ricci in Yellowjackets season 2 for Ice Storm reunion |last=Nolfi |first=Joey |date=August 19, 2022 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=August 19, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819172325/https://ew.com/tv/elijah-wood-yellowjackets-season-2-christina-ricci-ice-storm-reunion/ |archive-date=August 19, 2022}}</ref> In 1996, he guest starred in the episode entitled "The True Test" in ''[[Homicide: Life on the Street]]''. In 1997, Wood played [[The Artful Dodger|Jack "The Artful Dodger" Dawkins]] in a made-for-TV adaptation of ''[[Oliver Twist (1997 film)|Oliver Twist]]'', alongside [[Richard Dreyfuss]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Gallo |first=Phil |date=November 13, 1997 |title=Oliver Twist |url=https://variety.com/1997/tv/reviews/oliver-twist-2-1117339955/ |work=Variety |access-date=January 15, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304194523/https://variety.com/1997/tv/reviews/oliver-twist-2-1117339955/ |archive-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref> The following year, he had a leading role in the sci-fi [[disaster film]] ''[[Deep Impact (film)|Deep Impact]],'' and a starring role in ''[[The Faculty]]'', directed by [[Robert Rodriguez]]. In 1999, Wood played a suburban white teenager who affects hip-hop lingo in [[James Toback]]'s ''[[Black and White (1999 drama film)|Black and White]]'', and a junior hitman in ''[[Chain of Fools (film)|Chain of Fools]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rehlin |first=Gunnar |date=March 11, 2001 |title=Chain of Fools |url=https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/chain-of-fools-1200467419/ |work=Variety |access-date=January 15, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823110044/https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/chain-of-fools-1200467419/ |archive-date=August 23, 2018}}</ref>