io9 talked to the ‘Lord of the Rings’ fan favorite about his memorable role in Macon Blair’s new take on the horror comedy classic.
Elijah Wood will always be associated with the Lord of the Rings movies, but the actor has also built up a varied array of unusual characters across his career. Maybe his weirdest yet comes with The Toxic Avenger, the long-awaited remake of the cult classic that’s finally hitting theaters later this month. Wood has a memorable supporting role as Fritz, the brother and henchman of Kevin Bacon’s sleazy villain. He’s not as freaky-looking as the title mutant, played in human form by Peter Dinklage, but he comes awfully close.
io9 got a chance to talk to Wood about The Toxic Avenger (and a few other things in that vein) at the recent San Diego Comic-Con.
Cheryl Eddy, io9: Fritz is many things. He’s the head of security, he’s a music manager, he’s the villain’s brother. And he’s also very unusual looking. Did you come up with a backstory for him to explain what his life’s been like until this point?
Elijah Wood: No, but I think the writing’s on the wall there, like, he was born physically deformed, probably picked on. His brother was always smarter, more handsome, more capable. I think he desperately wanted to be loved and sort of wasn’t; he was kicked to the side and treated like shit. And so I think that turned him into, well, “I guess I’m the henchman,” and I think that brought out, not necessarily an evil in him, but I think it was like, resentment breeds dark deeds.
