Elijah Wood says mom would have ended his child acting career to protect him
Elijah Wood revealed that his mom, Debra Krause, prioritised raising him as a "good human" over his acting career.
Elijah Wood's mom was prepared to end his child stardom if it "ruined" him.
Debra Krause prioritised raising Elijah as a "good human" over his acting work - which began aged eight when he appeared in 63-year-old singer Paula Abdul's music video for her 1988 track, Forever Your Girl.
Asked how he coped as a successful child star, Elijah - who went on to appear in Back to the Future Part II, Forever Young, and The Ice Storm as a youngster - told The Times newspaper: "The person I credit is my mother. She was more concerned with raising a good human rather than how my career was going, and would have taken me out of the industry if she thought it might ruin her child.
"And I don’t know how people who have overnight success cope. It’s a weird thing to be thrust into the public eye, and the most unenviable thing is to do it without having tools to deal with it. How can they keep perspective?"
Elijah - who, aged 18, became a global star when cast as Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - continued: "So it’s fortunate that, by the time The Lord of the Rings entered my life, I had some experience with being recognisable.
"Not to anywhere near the level any of us would encounter on that, but, honestly, going through The Lord of the Rings? When you’ve been through that wild cultural event and made it through feeling whole and human?
"Well, I felt sort of set for the rest of my life. Like, if that wasn’t going to f*** me up - what will?"
The actor has been in the business for almost 40 years, and he still enjoys his work.
Asked if he has "ever felt jaded", Elijah, 45, responded: "Never.
"If I’d been on a TV show that lasted 15 years, I could imagine finding it hard to feel the same enthusiasm by year 12, but I’ve been lucky to have this wonderful, unexpected career - even if there have been tons of ebbs and flows.
"For a long time, I was told, 'You did it! You moved from being a child actor to an adult actor!' But I definitely had periods where I worked less. Perhaps around my late-20s? But I never felt jaded or cynical."
