Elijah Wood

Born: January 1981
Where: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA

It's a bit of a tough act to follow...one of the lead roles in Peter Jackson's sensational critical and commercial blockbuster trilogy Lord of the Rings.

Wood, who played the hobbit Frodo Baggins in the trilogy, described it as "the experience of a lifetime."

So it was with some surprise that he switched styles completely to play a chilling psycho-cannibal in Robert Rodriguez's supercool Sin City.

Hailed as Hollywood's most gifted child actor of the 1990s, Wood kicked off as a model and moved on to commercials and TV-movies before starting a successful career in features.

Parts in Back to the Future II in 1989 and Internal Affairs raised his profile but things only began to come together as the young grandson of immigrants (and alter ego of writer-director Barry Levinson) in the family saga Avalon.

Wood had a starring role in Radio Flyer and again occupied centre-stage in Disney's adaptation of the Mark Twain classic The Adventures of Huck Finn.

He more than held his own against the once burgeoning boy icon Macauley Culkin in the clever and chilling The Good Son, following this with Rob Reiner's North.

Wood co-starred as Kevin Costner's son in the coming-of-age tale The War and, after a two year absence, he returned to the big screen in Flipper.

Raising his game, he followed with a fine portrayal of a troubled teen coming of age in the 70s in Ang Lee's superior The Ice Storm in 1997.

Featured roles in Mimi Leder's above-average Armageddon actioner Deep Impact and the Robert Rodriguez-directed, sci-fi thriller The Faculty followed.

Cast in the three-part feature adaptation of JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Wood started a new chapter in his career.

With The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, Wood would become Frodo for three consecutive years in three blockbuster films.

In 2005, he starred opposite a re-energated Mickey Rourke in the digital extravaganza Sin City and played a yank soccer thug in the British hooligan yarn Green Street.

He also won plaudits for his performance in Liev Shreiber's touching journey into the past Everything Is Illuminated.

In 2006, he starred in the sprawling ensemble drama Bobby and also provided the voice for Mumble the penguin in the CGI extravaganza Happy Feet.

Recent work includes the part of an American mathematician in the thriller The Oxford Murders.