Elijah Wood' resume says his skills include singing, fencing, rollerblading, swimming, reading, cooking, and collecting Star Wars memorabilia. Although one may not imagine a hobbit with a collection of Yoda action figures (Mace Windu, perhaps, and Qui-Gon Jinn for sure), Elijah's singing and fencing skills will be useful in Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings". Whether it be "Upon the hearth the fire is red..." or "The Road goes ever on...", Frodo ever has a verse ready to sing or whisper as he gazes down some far-wandering path or looks out upon an uncertain world. Elijah's world is far more certain than Frodo's. He doesn't have to worry about whether he'll get another film role, but rather which film role he'll accept. He's already proven his ability through 17 previous film roles and 10 dramatic television appearances.

If fans have any concerns about Woods' portrayal of Frodo, they seem to focus on his sleight frame (undoubtedly to be expanded through computer imaging) and his youthfulness. But good makeup and acting will dispell all fears of underpresenting Tolkien's beloved hobbit. Frodo lives in Elijah Wood! Frodo Baggins the Character

Left an orphan at the age of twelve, Frodo Baggins grew up among the Brandybucks, the chief family of the Buckland, from whom his mother had come. But he was a Baggins, and when Frodo turned 21 he was adopted by his elderly cousin Bilbo, head of the Baggins family.

Frodo went to live with Bilbo at Bag End on The Hill, just north of Hobbiton and south of Overhill. There Bilbo gave Frodo an education and heritage which no other hobbit in the Shire ever experienced. Bilbo had been an adventurer, once, and had learned many things on his travels, and he was friendly with Elves and Dwarves, who occasionally passed through the Shire, the little country where most hobbits then lived.

From Bilbo Frodo learned a little Elvish and an appreciation of things in the wider world. They often went walking together through the hills and woods of the Shire and Bilbo would tell Frodo things, like, "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door. You step on to the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to. Do you realize that this is the very path that goes through Mirkwood, and that if you let it, it might take you to the Lonely Mountain or even further and to worse places?"

Mirkwood, Dale, Erebor. These were far off and distant names to hobbits, if they cared to hear them spoken at all. Most hobbits possessed what they deemed "plain hobbit-sense". They were grounded in their simple lives and pleasant days, for in Bilbo and Frodo's time they had plenty of food and there was little want need in their homeland. That had not always been so, and it would not always remain that way. But all the hobbits were lulled into complacence by their immense well-being and good fortune, as far as the outside world was concerned.

In time Bilbo grew restless again, and he left the Shire and Frodo behind, and he was only ever seen there once again, many years later. Frodo became the Master of Bag End and settled down to what seemed the normal life of a rich and solitary hobbit. But like Bilbo he never married, and he gradually felt an unquiet growing within him. It seemed at first a longing for adventure, a wistful dream of living among the Elves and Dwarves and valiant Men beyond the Shire's borders. And he missed Bilbo, as all children long for their departed elders.

The years rolled by and the outside world grew dark and empty. Frodo's unquiet was a bit of a warning, and his curiosity and longing prepared him for the road which lay ahead. But nothing could prepare him for the realization that he had unwittingly been given a terrible burden by Bilbo. For Bilbo had bequeathed to Frodo his magic ring, found on an adventure years before. Though very unassuming in appearance, the ring possessed a deep and terrible secret. It was in fact the One Ring, lost a long age before when a foolish man dared to cut it from the dead hand of the newly defeated Dark Lord, and instead of destroying it while he could, took it instead to be his own.

The Ring had been made by the Dark Lord for the purpose of dominating other wills, to enhance his power over the Elvenfolk, whom he had deceived and tricked into making their own Rings of Power. For though immortal the Elves were doomed to fade, and they must either leave Middle-earth forever or become a part of its legends. In their fear of the inevitble the Elves were seduced into a great arrogance. They came to believe they could (and should) stop the effects of Time upon themselves and the world they so loved. To their great grief, and the ruin of many others beside, the Elves learned too late that Sauron, the Dark Lord, only hoped to enslave them.

Now the Dark Lord had risen again, and he had heard of Bilbo Baggins, finder of the Ring, and he was looking for Bilbo, or whomever now possessed the Ring. The Shire was no longer safe for Frodo, and the wizard Gandalf advised him to set out for Rivendell, a far away refuge of Elvenfolk, but there Frodo would find wisdom and counsel, and he would have aid in deciding what to do with the Ring. Frodo took only three companions with him: his faithful servant Sam Gamgee and his two cousins, Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck and Peregrin "Pippin" Took.

On their road together they faced many perils, and they learned much about themselves and their strengths and weaknesses. Confronted by the terrors unleashed by Sauron, Frodo and his companions were aided by Aragorn, a Ranger and the last heir of Isildur, he who had taken the One Ring from Sauron in the first place. In time they came to Rivendell, and from there set out to destroy the One Ring. And Frodo struggled day by day with the burden of the Ring, for as he approached the boundaries of Mordor, the ancient land where Sauron had made the Ring, and where alone it might be unmade, the long dormant power of the Ring awoke and urged all evil things to help it return to its master.

Though accompanied by trusted companions for much of their journey, Frodo and Sam eventually realized Frodo was a great peril to all who travelled with him, and they secretly slipped away from their company, unaware that Sauron's minions had found them and were attacking. In the final stages of the journey Frodo and Sam had to rely on each other, and they found deep within themselves a courage and friendship which sustained them as their steps drew them ever closer to the shadows of Mordor. There is more than one Frodo...

Film making is as much a science as an art. To bring about the reality of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, Peter Jackson has brought together artists and tecnicians from around the world. Multiple sets are constructed, including an exterior for Bag End and two interior sets on a sound stage: one where a normal-sized actor such as Elijah Wood appears to be no larger than a hobbit and one where a normal-sized actor like Ian McKellen (who plays Gandalf) seems like a giant amid a hobbit's home. In some action scenes where larger (man-sized) characters are to carry Frodo, a dummy is used, such as the scene where Arwen races through the wilderness with Frodo on her horse.

In scenes where the actors must interact, if the angles allow Elijah plays Frodo, but sits or stands at a distance from the other actor(s) in a filming technique called "forced perspective". A special camera lens helps to focus on both actors so they seem to be closer together, and as long as their movements are properly coordinated, they appear to be a true man and hobbit on the screen.

But sometimes it's necessary for a hobbit-sized actor to stand in for Frodo, and at such times Kirin Shah takes the role of the Shire's most renowned hobbit. Shah in fact portrays both Bilbo and Frodo in scenes where Gandalf must interact closely with the characters. Yet Kirin Shah's face will never be seen. Either his outline or the back of his head will be used, or else he'll be wearing a black mask so that Elijah's face may be projected onto it digitally later on. Frodo will always be spoken for by Elijah Wood.

It is even conceivable that for some aerial shots, a completely digital image of Frodo (and other characters) will be created to conform to the movies' needs. Many characters will indeed be digitally created, though few of the principals are supposed to be. But it has been reported that Peter Jackson did not receive permission to film from a helicopter over a mountain that is revered by New Zealand's Maori, and if the shots he wanted were important enough and cannot be produced any other way, they may be digitally filmed.

Did you know that Ian Holm, who was cast to play Bilbo Baggins in the Peter Jackson production, provided the voice for Frodo Baggins in the BBC's popular radio broadcast, which is available on cassette tape?