Elijah Wood Has an M&M Ritual When He Flies

Rapid fire

Window or aisle seat?

Window. I put the shade down—I mean, if it’s sunny, it can be hard reading or watching a film—but keep it up during takeoff, when I like to look out the window. I’m not necessarily an entirely nervous flier, but I don’t find my comfort until we’re at cruising altitude, which I think is relatively common among a lot of people. So I like to look out the window and just sort of orient. My wife’s a much better traveler than I, she doesn’t need to see, and I’m like, I need to see a little bit. I like sitting by the window.

Are you a light packer or an overpacker?

I would say I err on the side of overpacking. I’ve traveled with people who only bring a backpack and I’ve not been able to do that. I bring a carry-on bag for light travel, and I think I’m actually quite efficient at packing a carry-on. But I do think I’m a little bit of an overpacker because I want to give myself options for when I land. I’m like, “I’m going to bring a couple extra things just in case I need them.” That being said, I do pride myself on being an efficient packer. I feel like I use space really well and pack well, but I do think I sometimes bring more than is necessary.

The tricky thing for me, though, is when you have a trip that incorporates two climates. That is an effer, man. I’ve had this recently—thankfully it wasn’t super extreme—but I was in Texas and then I had to be in Vancouver, and Vancouver is much cooler and Texas is 90s. I try to avoid checking a bag at all costs now, but it’s that conundrum of being able to pack for all seasons and the winter coat of it all, it’s a total nightmare.

What’s your favorite way to pass time on a plane?

A couple things. There’s a sort of rotation of podcasts, movies, and either Switch or Steam Deck. What have I listened to recently? There’s a new documentary series that explores each of Stevie Wonder’s seminal records from Music of My Mind straight through to Songs in the Key of Life. Each episode is about a different record of his in this period that is considered a golden period of his. I tend to listen to things that are documentary or long-form so that there’s something to dig into. But mostly what I do on planes is watch films.

What’s your biggest travel fear?

My biggest travel fear is probably heavy turbulence. I just don’t like turbulence. I just get a little anxious and I haven’t really let that go. It’s funny, the frequency with which I travel hasn’t changed that much. I remember there was a period where I was inured to it way more than I am now. I feel way more sensitive to it now, weirdly, and I don’t quite know why.

I was never a nervous traveler and I wouldn’t say that I am entirely now either, but I don’t love feeling the plane. I think that’s it. I was on a flight recently—it was an A380, a massive plane—but I just felt the wind the whole time. I could just feel that we were hurtling through space in a way that you don’t want to feel. The beautiful thing about a great plane journey is that it just is consistent, you’re in this tube and you’re not really aware of the fact that you’re moving. And so this flight was just… It was fine, but I didn’t like that feeling.

What’s your favorite travel snack?

I don’t really bring snacks on a plane, but on board, it’s such a cliche, but I’ll never deny warm nuts. It’s like the only place on the planet where I eat that. It is so specific to plane travel. And then I won’t deny a cheese and cracker situation. For our kids, the one treat on planes that is very associated with plane travel is M&Ms. It’s become a ritual with our family.

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