Delighted With Frodo
Trudy S.

I've been madly in love with Frodo since I was in junior high (do I have to say how many years ago that was?). So I was especially concerned that the actor chosen to play him in the movies be up to the job. I've so far watched 14 of Elijah Wood's movies (not quite done yet), most of them multiple times, and I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have in the part.

I'm not sure which of Wood's movies Glamorf has seen. The Faculty was just a fun romp, so if that's the extent of anyone's experience with his acting, I'd suggest checking out some others -- The War, The Bumblebee Flies Anyway, Deep Impact (bad plot, good acting) and, for those mature enough, The Ice Storm. Even some of the movies he made when he was a little kid show a lot of talent (try Avalon, The Good Son, Radio Flyer, Forever Young). Sure, there's a couple of clinkers (anybody remember North?), but all told an impressive body of work.

In my opinion, his greatest gift is how much he can communicate about his character in subtle actions, or in just a few words of dialogue. I've watched him handle "high emotion" scenes wonderfully, too, and there will certainly be some of those in LotR. But so much of Frodo's character is interior, and I can honestly say I haven't seen another actor who can play that type of role any better than Elijah Wood.

He's much more than a pretty face (kind of funny, 'cause I don't think he's all that great looking--of course, he's a little young for me). We've already discussed here some months ago the age and build issues, so hopefully we don't need to do all of that again. The two main points are that Frodo's mostly Fallohide, so should be taller and slimmer than most hobbits (Merry and Pippin fall into that category, too, being related), and Gandalf's letter to Barliman does indicate he's fairly good looking. And, of course, he stops growing older physically the day he comes of age, so a "human equivalent" of 20 isn't unreasonable.

And one of the most important qualifications? He went after the role on his own initiative as soon as he heard about it, because he loves Tolkien.

I, for one, am looking forward to watching him play someone I consider one of the most complicated characters in fiction.