It's In The Baggins

At least in one way, Elijah Wood’s career has come full circle. The 21-year-old actor, who first appeared on screen as a kid playing an arcade game in Back to the Future Part II, now finds himself in a videogame that’s based on his upcoming movie The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. And though you can’t play as Frodo — the film’s hobbit hero — parts of the game are spent protecting the diminutive ring bearer from the forces of evil. ”Poor helpless Frodo!” laments Wood, who lends his voice to the game (see review opposite page). His less-than-heroic role notwithstanding, Wood was eager to become involved with the project. ”I’m quite the videogame fan,” he cheerfully admits. ”It’s part of my geeky obsession.” To offer proof, Wood proudly cites his recent playtime with games like Eternal Darkness and Halo. He even fesses up to taking his PlayStation to New Zealand for the 15-month LOTR shoot. Unfortunately, it got about as much use as a hobbit shoe rack: ”I plugged [it] into the wall and it burned because I didn’t get a power transformer for it.” If only the One Ring could be destroyed that easily.