The Lord of the Rings - Did Cate Blanchett get paid with sandwiches?
Cate Blanchett (55) reportedly earned far less than expected for her role as Galadriel in the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy. The renowned Hollywood actress even joked that she was practically paid in sandwiches. Her motivation to work with director Peter Jackson (62) was not the money, as she revealed in a conversation with host Andy Cohen (56) on the show "Watch What Happens Live".
Sandwiches and Artificial Ears
When asked by Cohen which film had earned her the most, Blanchett let him guess. He suggested, "I think it's probably 'The Lord of the Rings'." Blanchett responded with a near-disbelieving, "Are you kidding?"
Despite Jackson's trilogy, consisting of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers", and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", grossing over $2.9 billion at the box office, Blanchett apparently didn't see much of that money. "No, nobody got paid anything for the film," said the 55-year-old. And she wasn't additionally compensated later on: "No! That was way before all that. No, nothing."
"Women Don't Get Paid as Much as You Think"
Blanchett, who also appeared as Galadriel in the "Hobbit" films, explained that she wanted to work with the director of "Braindead". Jackson had gained attention with this film, which was first indexed in Germany in 1993. "I basically got paid in free sandwiches and got to keep my [artificial] ears," the actress joked, adding, "Women don't get paid as much as you think."
But actresses weren't the only ones reportedly paid less for "The Lord of the Rings". Legolas actor Orlando Bloom (47) revealed in the 2023 "Howard Stern Show" that his total salary for the trilogy was $175,000.
In the conversation with Andy Cohen, Cate Blanchett hinted that her earnings for "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy were significantly less than the box office success, jokingly stating, "No, nobody got paid anything for the film." Furthermore, Blanchett's co-star Orlando Bloom revealed on the 2023 "Howard Stern Show" that he was also paid less, with a total salary of $175,000 for the trilogy.
