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Elijah Wood backs Scottish independence, then claims he thought they were talking about independent Scottish cinema

The Lord of the Rings actor joins a whole host of famous faces who have given their opinion on the September referendum

Jenn Selby
Friday 27 June 2014 16:19 BST
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(AFP/MARTIN BERNETTI)

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Elijah Wood raised eyebrows earlier this week after he waded into the particularly volatile political debate over Scottish independence by telling the countrymen to “f**king go for it”.

But the American Lord of the Rings actor has since claimed he was confused by the question he was asked as he promoted his new movie, Set Fire to the Stars, at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and said he thought he was being probed on the slightly less controversial subject of independent Scottish cinema rather than the referendum this September.

Speaking to The Scotsman, he said: “You know, in truth, I thought they were talking about independent cinema. I mean, it’s a film festival.”

His original comment in full was the following: “The independence of Scotland? F**king go for it, man!”

He joined a host of famous faces – including Eddie Izzard, David Bowie, and Rod Stewart, among others – whose declarations as supporters of either the ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ vote sparked a social media frenzy online.

Wood’s frenzy paid particular homage to his fantasy character from the aforementioned Peter Jackson trilogy.

“Frodo for freedom!” tweets read. “Frodo backs Scottish independence” headlines proclaimed.

His comments come just days after Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe expressed his hope that the United Kingdom would stay together.

Speaking to Buzzfeed in New York he said: “I personally like the UK being how it is.”

However, he softened his stance by following up with a relatively fence-sitting statement.

“I can totally see why some people in Scotland might want independence,” he said.

“But it’s also not up to me; I don’t get a say in the future of Scotland and that’s fair. I’m sure they’ll make the right decision for their country.”

His position contrasted with that of Harry Potter author JK Rowling, who donated £1million to the ‘No’ Campaign earlier this month.

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