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Over two decades ago, The Lord of the Rings trilogy set a new standard for fantasy films on the big screen. Return of the King even won Best Picture, Best Director, and more at the Oscars. But as beloved as those films are, the actors who starred in them weren’t paid what you may have expected. Now, Cate Blanchett, who appeared as Galadriel in the LOTR and The Hobbit trilogies, has said that “no one got paid anything” for being in the films.
Via Variety, Blanchett was a guest on Watch What Happens Live when she was asked if the LOTR films were her highest paying role. Her response was incredulous, and she added that “I basically got free sandwiches, and I got to keep my [elf] ears.” Blanchett went on to explain that she took the role because she was a fan of Peter Jackson’s films.
“I wanted to work with the guy who made Braindead,” said Blanchett. Braindead was a zombie comedy that was released as Dead Alive in America in 1992. It helped Jackson establish himself as a director before he eventually adapted J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels.
Orlando Bloom, who starred in the trilogy as Legolas, made similar comments last year on The Howard Stern Show. Bloom revealed that he was paid $175,000 for his work on all three of the films. But Bloom also stated that he would have done it all again.
“Listen, greatest gift of my life,” said Bloom. “Are you kidding me? And you’d do it again for half the money.”
The next live-action LOTR film will be The Hunt for Gollum, with Andy Serkis directing the movie and reprising his role as Gollum. It’s currently unknown if any of the other original cast members will return for that project.
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