Elijah Wood Honors Peter Jackson With Honorary Palme D'Or at Cannes 2026

The 2026 Cannes Film Festival opening ceremony became an intimate celebration of cinema's most iconic director-actor partnership on Tuesday night, as Elijah Wood took the stage to present Peter Jackson with an honorary Palme D'Or.

Wood, 45, and Jackson, 64, have shared one of Hollywood's most storied collaborations spanning The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The actor was accompanied by his wife, Danish film producer Mette-Marie Kongsved, while Jackson arrived with his two children, Billy and Katie.

During his presentation remarks, Wood recounted the pivotal moment that set his career on a new trajectory. He recalled being just 18 years old when Jackson and screenwriter Fran Walsh first reached out after discovering a VHS tape Wood had created with friends in Griffith Park's woods. That initial meeting in casting director Victoria Burrows' office led to an audition for the role of Frodo Baggins.

"When the call came that I was going to be Frodo Baggins, I sat down on the floor of my bedroom and I understood with the whole of my being that my life had just been divided into before and after," Wood reflected. He acknowledged that while his experience proved transformative, Jackson's impact extends far beyond his own journey.

Jackson then took the opportunity to discuss the considerable risks surrounding The Lord of the Rings production. He credited the Cannes Film Festival with fundamentally shifting the trajectory of the entire franchise. According to Jackson, media outlets were predicting the ambitious trilogy would fail before production even concluded.

With Fellowship of the Ring scheduled for December 2001 release and filming wrapped in December 2000, the team faced a critical year of post-production. Jackson explained that New Line Cinema founder Bob Shaye made the bold decision to premiere 20 minutes of footage at Cannes in May 2001, strategically timed to counter the negative narratives circulating in the press.

"Bob's great gamble really changed the perception of the film," Jackson said, noting that the festival screening and accompanying press events generated the anticipation that ultimately greeted the film's theatrical debut. Without that Cannes intervention, Jackson suggested, the franchise's cultural reception would have been markedly different.