Just Back from Prague: Elijah Wood

"I'm not the kind of person who pines for America when I am away."

OCCUPATION Actor HOME BASE Los Angeles URBAN EXPOSURE While filming Everything Is Illuminated— the adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer's novel, which opens next month—the Iowa native spent three months exploring the backstreets of Prague (the story, set in Ukraine, was shot in the Czech Republic). "One of the most amazing luxuries about being an actor is being able to live in different places as opposed to just visiting them," Wood explains. "My apartment was a block from Old Town Square, and I spent my free time walking around and trying all sorts of restaurants," including the Italian wine bar Divinis (19 Týnská St.; 420-2/2480-8318). AFTER NIGHT FALLS "I recommend crossing the Charles Bridge, but at a very late hour—between one and four a.m.," he says. "You can walk freely, unhindered by the human crush." SOAKING IT IN "I'm not the kind of person who pines for America when I am away," Wood says. "If I'm given the opportunity to travel, I will immerse myself in the culture and experience what the locals experience." MAGIC KINGDOM "People refer to the city as the Gothic Disneyland," he says. "Some say the theme park was modeled after Old Town Square. I don't know if it's true, but there's a similar quality—though Prague is much darker."
—JANET KINOSIAN