He Will Take It! Elijah Wood's Net Worth in 2023
Elijah Wood
Elijah Wood has come a long way from Lord of the Rings.
The franchise, in which he starred as Frodo, was his most famous set of films to date, but he's done some seriously cool stuff since as well.
Wood had his own record label, as well as SpectreVision, a production house that brought us movies like Nicolas Cage's incredible turn in Mandy, as well as the modern vampire classic A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. He's also starred in fare far from his wholesome past, including Maniac, Yellowjackets and the upcoming Toxic Avenger.
"We seek out diverse voices, diverse crew and hire a lot of women," Wood previously told The Independent. As far as what he looks to do in general, he explained, "I'm never interested in putting anything negative into the world. I'm only looking at something that’s going to put something positive into the world."
That positivity is reflected in his bank account. Find out Elijah Wood's net worth in 2023 and how the shockingly well-adjusted former child star made it.
Related: What to Know About the Animated Lord of the Rings Prequel
How did Elijah Wood become famous?
Elijah Wood got his start as a child star.
An Iowa native, Wood began his career in local theater. When he was 8 years old, he moved with his mother, older brother and younger sister to Los Angeles to pursue acting professionally. He became a model and starred in local commercials, followed by the Paula Abdul music video "Forever Your Girl" and a TV movie.
He made his big-screen debut in Back to the Future Part II in 1989. He appeared in several more movies, including Internal Affairs with Richard Gere, Avalon with Aidan Quinn and Jamie Lee Curtis in Forever Young. His first starring role was in the Disney adaptation of The Adventures of Huck Finn, and he appeared alongside Macaulay Culkin, then the biggest child star on the planet, in The Good Son.
His biggest break came courtesy of the 1994 film North, in which he co-starred with Bruce Willis.
With an illustrious resume at a young age, Wood credits good parenting for his lack of the sorts of scandals and issues that often plague child stars transitioning into adulthood.
His most famous role came when he was a newly minted legal adult: Frodo in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Related: Elijah Wood's Best Roles Through the Years
What is Elijah Wood's net worth in 2023?
Celebrity Net Worth estimates Elijah Wood's net worth in 2023 to be a cool $20 million.
How much was Elijah Wood paid for LOTR?
New Line
Wood reportedly made $250,000 for all three Lord of the Rings films, comprised of the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. He may have also received box office bonuses for the movies, but that's never actually been confirmed.
In any case, the role was absolutely life-changing for Wood, and he doesn't have any regrets about the experience, nor about being associated with Frodo for the rest of his life.
"I accepted a long time ago that I would forever be linked to Frodo, so it doesn’t bother me. Honestly, it would be such a sad burden if it did," he told The New York Times. "I’m so used to people on the street calling me Frodo and not calling me by my name. It’s representative of one of the greatest experiences of my life, movies that I adore and memories that I’ll cherish forever. At the end of my days, that is what I will be linked to probably more than anything else."
Related: How to Watch the Lord of the Rings Movies In Order
How much did Elijah Wood make from Lord of the Rings?
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Wood's salary for Lord of the Rings trilogy isn't publicly known, but it's safe to say it was probably not much! Co-star Sean Astin previously revealed he made $250,000 for all three movies, while Orlando Bloom, an unknown when he was cast, revealed to Howard Stern that he only made $175,000 for the trilogy.
Wood's salary was somewhat higher than that of many of his co-stars at the time because he was already an established child and teen star in movies like North, The Faculty and more.
Related: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Stars Dish on Being Heroines
How much did Elijah Wood get paid for The Hobbit?
New Line
While Wood's salary for the LOTR trilogy was low, he made up for it with The Hobbit: He reportedly made $1 million for his brief cameo, in which he reprised his role of Frodo.
Related: 20 Recipes Inspired by The Lord of the Rings
Did Elijah Wood audition for Lord of the Rings?
Wood did audition for Lord of the Rings, but not in a conventional way.
In August 2021, he revealed to GQ that his audition was unique: He enlisted some pals and made his own audition tape after working with a dialect coach, filming several scenes of Frodo at various points of his heroic journey through Middle Earth. He edited the video himself, put it on a VHS tape and brought it to Miramax's casting office, who then sent it along to director Peter Jackson. Jackson then called Wood directly and offered him the role.
Another now-megastar who auditioned for Frodo? Jake Gyllenhaal, who revealed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that his audition didn't go nearly as well as Wood's.
Related: The Best Quotes from The Lord of the Rings Movies
How old was Elijah Wood when they shot Lord of the Rings?
Wood was newly 18 when he began filming as Frodo in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
How tall was Elijah Wood when he played Frodo?
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Wood is 5'6," which is pretty tall for a hobbit! Jackson used mostly old school camera tricks to make the hobbits seem significantly more diminutive in the LOTR movies. J.R.R. Tolkien has described the average hobbit's height as generally being between two and four feet tall.
