Baggins of charm

He's in London, then he's disappeared to Italy and before you can blink he's back home in Hollywood, making the next instalment in what is now a veteran stable of Elijah Wood films which have made him such a household name.

Bearing in mind that Elijah has been starring in films since he was eight years old, and is now 27, that gives you an idea about how prolific he's been.

Of course it was the part of Frodo that raised his profile to worldwide super- star- dom, but you'd never know when speaking to him that you were in the presence of such a megastar.

Instead he's polite, funny, down-to-earth and more than happy to chat about The Oxford Murders and filming in our city: "It was great and Oxford is somewhere I've been wanting to get to for quite some time," he says.

"It really was a lovely, lovely place."

That he's totally committed to his work is obvious.

Elijah's schedule while he was here was so tight that there was little time left over to play.

But he still managed to hit a few bars and restaurants and slope off for the odd pint.

"I got to go to The Eagle and Child which was great because of its links with Tolkien. And it's a great little pub with all those tiny rooms."

So does he drink bitter? "I'm sorry?" he asks. "The beer," I hint.

"Oh, well actually I'm partial to Stella which is a bit of a joke really," he laughs.

"And I have the odd pint of Guinness or Bass now and again."

I'm sure Tolkien will be pleased to hear it.

"But we were working on such a tight schedule because most of the film was shot in London and the locations shots were done afterwards in Oxford over a week."

There's a pause and then: "We did get one day off where we went down to the river," he offers.

"Did you go punting?" I ask. He laughs sheepishly. "No, I opted for the row boat."

But back to the film. The Oxford Murders is about Martin (Elijah), a young American graduate who moves to Oxford to study mathematics at the city's university under the guidance of the prestigious Professor of Logic Arthur Seldom (John Hurt).

After the sudden death of his landlady, Mrs Eagleton, an old lady who once helped decipher the Enigma Code, Martin is drawn into a complex murder mystery and joins forces with Seldom to stop a sequence of bizarre murders which are mysteriously linked by mathematical symbols.

So, a complicated plot to say the least?

"Well yes, that was one of the main challenges," Elijah explains. "The volume of the dialogue and the complexity of it was a responsibility because the film is verbose and intellectually driven, so what is challenging is to remember it all while keeping it as light as possible and to make sure the audience doesn't get bogged down by the info," he says.

Filming ended months ago, but with the premiere airing in Oxford today, Elijah has been doing the rounds, talking about the film and getting as much publicity for it as possible.

Of course he's used to doing his bit' but he says: "As an actor it's part of the job but the press junkets are certainly the only bit that feel like real work, because the actual filming never does.

"But I like revisiting a film because you get to catch up with all the people you were in it with and relax and get togethe,r which is really nice."

He adds: "We're really proud of this film and want to share it with other people."

Like his co-star Leonor Watling for example with whom he had to get down and dirty.'?

Elijah laughs: "The whole sex scene thing was new territory for me actually," he offers. "so yes, it was a bit nervewracking.

"But we were pretty relaxed about it because we'd been working together for a while by that point and were comfortable together.

"But it is weird being surrounded by a small group of people (the film crew) in what is an intimate situation, but Alex (the director) knew it was a first for me, so kept it light and kept things moving, so that we didn't take it too seriously."

So no giggling then? "Yeah, there was quite a lot of giggling," he admits laughing again.

And did he wince when he watched it?

"No, I don't have a problem watching myself because I'm concentrating on the film as a whole rather than myself, and, as an actor I'm just as concerned with how it turns out in its entirety."

Since The Oxford Murders, apart from lots of travelling, Elijah has been working on a new animated movie called 9 which is being released next year, and preparing for his part as the lead in The Passenger, playing a young Iggy Pop.

In between he's been jetting off here, there and everywhere, working on his own record label and just doing his thing. "Yeah, it's rare that I get a month off like this, so I'm really enjoying myself," he agrees.

So how long would it be before he starts panicking about the next job? "Oh, a long time," he laughs, as if he can't imagine it.

"As long as I'm busy, I'm comfortable."

Travelling is Elijah's biggest hobby, alongside music (he has his own record label Simian Records) yet the travel bug is quite rare among Americans, considering most of them don't even have passports.

"It is, and that's something I've never understood because travel is one of life's great privileges," he says. "But then a lot of Americans don't feel the need because their own country is so huge.

"In Britain you're lucky because you have Europe right there at your disposal. But you're right, a lot of Americans don't have the aspiration to travel."

And what about when he's not travelling or working?

"Oh you know. I hang out with my friends, go to the movies, all the normal stuff that everyone else does. It's really not that interesting," he adds.

He'd be surprised!