How do you say “embarrassed” in Elvish?
Elijah Wood is recognized around the world for his starring role in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. But 25 years after the The Fellowship of the Ring hit theaters, he’s just now getting around to reading the J.R.R. Tolkien’s classics from which they were adapted.
Wood, who starred as hobbit Frodo Baggins in the wildly successful fantasy franchise, made the admission on the Late Show, hosted by J.R.R. Tolkien superfan Stephen Colbert.
Colbert asked Wood, “Is it true that you still haven’t finished reading the Lord of the Rings?”
Wood crumpled in his seat and started shaking with laughter as the audience hooted.
“Having it be from you, I feel almost the most embarrassed, Stephen, because I know no one else in my life that loves Tolkien more than you and has read the books more than maybe anyone,” Wood said.
Colbert is famously obsessed with all things Tolkien. He has dabbled in Quenya, the high Elvish language invented by the author, and made a cameo in the film The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
An abashed Wood continued, “So 25 years later, actually 27 if you consider we started shooting in October of ’99—I’ll at least say this: There’s an update. I have started them, and they’re incredible.”
Colbert reached out to Wood for a handshake. “Listen,” he said. “I don’t want to tell you how it ends, but I’ll give you a hint: You know how it ends.”
“I do, yeah,” Wood replied.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
