Elijah Wood Takes Fandom Very Seriously and Wants Everyone to Feel Seen (EXCLUSIVE)

As my interview with actor Elijah Wood was approaching its start time, I found myself feeling increasingly more nervous. It's a strange reaction that often happens before chatting with a celebrity, a noteworthy famous person, or anyone I admire. This is both a common human response and a deeply embarrassing reaction to a fairly normal scenario. Despite being a child of the 1980s, talking to strangers is usually never a problem for me, unless they are larger than life in my mind.

I feel confident in my belief that a large swath of the world's population is a fan of Elijah, as they have come to know him. He is the heroic Frodo Baggins of The Shire in the record-breaking The Lord of the Rings franchise.

And while I enjoyed those movies, his small role in another franchise is what filled me with equal parts dread and excitement. We dug into that, a partnership with Skittles that will bring joy to one lucky person, and what an ideal fan interaction looks like.

When Elijah's face appeared on my laptop screen, I confessed to him about my pre-interview anxiety and asked about his experience with fans, who undoubtedly have felt what I had been feeling. When it comes to the ideal interaction, Elijah says he just wants the fans to feel seen and heard.

"I take that responsibility to heart," he said.

It's important for Elijah that the fans come away from a meeting feeling as if he was engaged and present.

Elijah's work has changed lives, which is something he is very much aware of and does not take for granted.

"I hear stories of how people have met each other because of having seen The Lord of the Rings, which brought them together," he said. "And then they got married." He has listened as people told him about how those movies got them through hard times. "That can reflect back on me, which is such an extraordinary thing."

Fandom is a two-way street. Elijah also takes something away from his time with fans, and looks for the moments when they are able to articulate what his work has meant to them. "That can be really like the minutia," said Elijah, "or something really profound, but all of that is meaningful."

He continued, "Getting a sense of how something has been a part of someone's life is never not an extraordinary thing," explained Elijah.

It's Elijah's respect for his fans that led him to a partnership with Skittles and Gopuff for a truly incredible opportunity. Super Bowl LX is about to get a taste of the rainbow when Elijah drops by one fan's house for a live commercial that will air during the big game.

This involves some creativity, so if you want to flex those imagination muscles, head to DeliverTheRainbow.com for information on how to enter.

I told Elijah this partnership was a real joy-bringer. He said he is drawn to the human connection aspect of going to a person's home and embarking on this magical journey with a total stranger.

"The thing I am most excited about is getting to meet that person," said Elijah, who is looking forward to witnessing what this will be like for them.

Before we parted ways, I revealed to Elijah that my favorite franchise is Back to the Future. For the youth out there, Elijah had a quick but hilarious scene in the second movie.

"I'm also such a huge fan of those films," he said. "To get to play the tiniest part in such a beautiful, beloved franchise is a treat."