Elijah Wood thinks having a "sense of identity" has helped him to avoid the pitfalls of fame.
Elijah Wood
The 40-year-old star shot to fame as a child actor, starring in movies such as 'Back to the Future Part II' and 'Avalon', but he believes that having a stable family life has helped him to remain grounded over the years.
Elijah - who is best known for playing Frodo Baggins in the 'Lord of the Rings' film trilogy - shared: "If you think about the trappings, a lot of it is people not knowing who they are, and not having a strong sense of their own identity or a sense of belonging.
"In regards to there being a stable home life, those two things are essential. If you don’t have that, then you’re suddenly defining yourself by what everyone else tells you you are – by what the industry tells you you are.
"Then there’s an inflated sense of self that isn’t real. It just leads to all these other things. But if you are grounded in some form of reality, and have a sense of who you are, and you have love in your life, that’s it. You’re kind of bolstered against most of it."
Elijah also fears that young people are now facing too much pressure and stress in their daily lives.
The Hollywood star wishes teenagers felt more comfortable with their own identity.
He told The Independent newspaper: "You look at teenagers just f****** struggling for a sense of identity, and you just want to say, ‘Don’t worry! Be a weirdo! It doesn’t f****** matter. In five years, no-one’s going to give a s***. You can just be who you want to be.'"
Tagged in Elijah Wood