Editing Elijah Wood (section)

===1999–2003: ''The Lord of the Rings''===

{{further|Production of The Lord of the Rings film series}}

[[File:One Ring Blender Render.png|thumb|upright=0.6|After the lengthy filming of ''[[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|Lord of the Rings]]'', Jackson gave Wood one of the [[One Ring]] props (artist's impression shown) used on the set.<ref name="Brooks 2013"/> ]]

Wood played [[Frodo Baggins]] in the 2001 ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', the first installment of [[Peter Jackson]]'s adaptation of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s multi-volume novel. Wood was a fan of [[the Hobbit]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-22 |title=Elijah Wood on The Hobbit, Making Horror Films, and the Best Holiday … |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2012/12/elijah-wood-the-woodshed-twitterview |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250222062520/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2012/12/elijah-wood-the-woodshed-twitterview |url-status=dead |archive-date=2025-02-22 |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=archive.ph}}</ref> and he sent in an audition tape of himself dressed as Frodo, reading lines from the novel.<ref name=circus>{{cite book |last=Sibley |first=Brian |author-link=Brian Sibley |title=Peter Jackson: A Film-maker's Journey |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2006 |chapter=Three-Ring Circus |location=London |pages=388–444 |isbn=0-00-717558-2}}</ref> He was selected from 150 actors who auditioned.<ref name=bumps>{{cite magazine |last=Flynn |first=Gillian |title=Ring Masters |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=November 16, 2001 |url=https://ew.com/article/2001/11/16/ring-masters/ |access-date=September 16, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071125155650/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C253462%2C00.html |archive-date=November 25, 2007}}</ref> Wood was the first actor to be cast.<ref>{{cite news |title=Official Frodo Press Release! |publisher=The One Ring.net |date=July 9, 1999 |url=http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/1/931577666 |access-date =October 15, 2006}}</ref> This gave Wood top billing, alongside a cast full of stars.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018194153/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1807537463/cast |url=http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1807537463/cast |title=The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring |website=[[Yahoo! Movies]] |archive-date=October 18, 2007 |access-date=May 9, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016165238/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1804738128/cast |url=http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1804738128/cast |title=The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers |website=[[Yahoo! Movies]] |archive-date=October 16, 2007 |access-date=May 9, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014145739/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1804738130/cast |url=http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1804738130/cast |title=The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |website=[[Yahoo! Movies]] |archive-date=October 14, 2007 |access-date=May 9, 2019}}</ref> 
The ''[[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|Lord of the Rings]]'' trilogy was filmed in New Zealand; principal photography took over a year, and [[pick-up (filmmaking)|pick-up]] shooting continued annually for the next four years.<ref name="TTT SEE">{{cite video |title=The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers "Appendices" |medium=DVD |publisher=[[New Line Cinema]] |date=2003}}</ref><ref name="Trilogy book">{{Cite book |last=Sibley |first=Brian |author-link=Brian Sibley |title=The Making of the Movie Trilogy |publisher=Harper Collins |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-618-26022-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/lordofringsmakin00sibl |pages=44, 52}}</ref> Before the cast left the country, Jackson gave Wood two gifts: one of the [[One Ring]] props used on the set and [[Sting (Middle-earth)|Sting]], Frodo's sword. He was also given a pair of prosthetic "hobbit feet" of the type worn during filming.<ref name="Brooks 2013">{{cite news |last=Brooks |first=Xan |date=March 7, 2013 |title=Elijah Wood: 'Frodo's never going away' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/mar/07/elijah-wood-maniac-frodo |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=January 15, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010191955/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/mar/07/elijah-wood-maniac-frodo |archive-date=October 10, 2015}}</ref>

In 2002, Wood lent his voice to the [[direct-to-video|DTV]] release of ''[[The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina]]''. Later that year, the second part of Peter Jackson's trilogy was released, titled ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]''. 
In 2003, Wood starred in the [[direct-to-video|DTV]] film ''[[All I Want (film)|All I Want]]'' and cameoed as 'The Guy' in ''[[Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over]]''. The concluding chapter of the ''Rings'' trilogy, ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'' was released in December of that year.<ref>{{cite news |last=Neal |first=Rome |date=December 18, 2003 |title=The Return Of Elijah Wood |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-return-of-elijah-wood/ |work=[[CBS News]] |access-date=January 15, 2014}}</ref>