While Robert Downey Jr. is making headlines with his million-dollar salary for his MCU return, Cate Blanchett reveals that she received barely any significant pay for Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films a quarter of a century ago.
Paid in sandwiches: Cate Blanchett didn’t make Lord of the Rings for the big paycheck
Cate Blanchett’s performance as the elf Galadriel in all three Lord of the Rings films is one of her best-known roles. Despite this, her pay for playing the Mistress of the Forest was apparently negligible, as she revealed on the show Watch What Happens Live! When the presenter suggested that the celebrated fantasy trilogy had brought her the most profit in her acting career, she could only laugh:
Here you will find an external content from Twitterthat complements the article. You can display it and hide it again with one click.
Are you kidding? No, nobody was paid anythingto make this film. […] I wanted to work with the guy who made Braindead. I basically only got free sandwiches and was allowed to keep my elf ears. […] Women are not paid as much as people think.
The system of profit sharing in the event of a film success did not apply to Cate Blanchett at the time, who was primarily interested in working with Peter Jackson. Her statement that she was paid “nothing” is of course a bit of an understatement. Despite the Lord of the Rings success of nearly $3 billion in worldwide revenue However, it is known that the first Middle-earth trilogy was made relatively cheaply, for only about 94 million dollars per film, according to Box Office Mojo.
The Galadriel star did not give any specific salary figures. In fact, we only know the salaries of a few well-known Lord of the Rings stars. Legolas actor Orlando Bloom, for example, received only 175,000 US dollars for three films. We can only hope that Cate Blanchett received more pay for her acting efforts when she returned to the Hobbit trilogy ten years later.
Cate Blanchett will be seen in Eli Roth’s action film Borderlands in cinemas from August 22, 2024 and will also soon lead the Alfonso Cuarón series Disclaimer.
Podcast: What to expect in season 2 of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series
Amazon’s big fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is returning and wants to take a closer look at more than just Sauron in a season of villains. We discuss what is known about Season 2 so far.
At this point you will find external content that supplements the article. You can display it and hide it again with one click.
In addition to a slightly changed cast, legendary Tolkien characters such as Tom Bombadil and probably also the giant spider Shelob await us in Middle Earth in Season 2. We classify the rumors and theories that promise a dark return.