Cate Blanchett has opened up about her stint in the trilogy, claiming she got paid in sandwiches to take part.
The 55-year-old – – played Galadriel across all three movies in the franchise, appearing in The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001, 2002’s Two Towers and the Return of the King the following year.
She starred alongside Elijah Wood, Sean Bean, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Liv Tyler and Hugo Weaving, with Peter Jackson serving as director.
Although they made at the global box office, and won countless awards, the Hollywood legend alleged that ‘no one got paid anything’ to take part.
During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Andy Cohen asked what film in her catalog came with the biggest pay cheque, and assumed that her answer would be Lord of the Rings.
‘Are you kidding me? No, no one got paid anything to do that movie,’ she replied.
Cate also clarified that she didn’t ‘get a piece of the back end’ once the blockbuster had been released.
‘I wanted to work with the guy who made Braindead,’ she said. ‘I mean, I basically got free sandwiches, and I got to keep my ears. Which is something, they fed me!
‘No one got paid anything.’
When the host questioned what her big money film could be, she added: ‘Women don’t get paid as much as you think they do.’
Despite this, in the prequel Hobbit film trilogy – an Unexpected Journey in 2012, The Desolation of Smaug in 2013 and 2014’s The Battle of the Five Armies.
They also released to huge fanfare, earning more than $2.9billion at the box office, matching the success of the original movies.
Orlando Bloom previously in the trilogy in a chat on the Howard Stern show.
‘I got nothing. $175,000 [for the three movies]. The greatest gift of my life, are you kidding me?
‘I’d do it again for half the money.’
The fantasy world will be explored once again with an upcoming sequel focusing on Andy Serkis’ Gollum, simply titled, Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.
Peter Jackson will be back on board to produce the flick, which is slated for release in 2026, while Andy is reprising his character once again.
The film will reportedlybe set during the start of the first Lord of the Rings film, Fellowship of the Ring.
Film bosses confirmed the move – as well as another movie in the same universe – with studio leaders Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy explaining in a statement: ‘For over two decades, moviegoers have embraced the Lord of the Rings film trilogy because of the undeniable devotion Peter, Fran and Philippa have shown towards protecting the legacy of Tolkien’s works, and to ensure audiences could experience the incredible world he created in a way that honors his literary vision.
‘We are honored they have agreed be our partners on these two new films.
‘With Andy coming aboard to direct Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, we continue an important commitment to excellence that is a true hallmark of how we all want to venture ahead and further contribute to the Lord of the Rings cinematic history.’
