“The Lord of the Rings” is one of the most successful film series of all time and has grossed $2.9 billion worldwide. But according to Cate Blanchett, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the actors received a hefty salary for their participation in Peter Jackson’s film trilogy.
During “Watch What Happens Live” on Tuesday night, host Andy Cohen asked Blanchett which movie she received the biggest paycheck for. “I think it’s probably ‘Lord of the Rings,'” Cohen guessed.
“Are you kidding me?” Blanchett replied. “No, no one was paid for this film.”
When Cohen asked her if she “got a piece of the backend,” Blanchett replied, “No! That was long before all of this. No, nothing.”
“I wanted to work with the man who made ‘Braindead,'” she continued, referring to Jackson and his 1992 zombie comedy, which was released in North America under the title “Dead Alive.”
Blanchett played the role of Galadriel, a royal Middle Earth elf with powerful magical powers, in Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. The Oscar winner reprised her role in the director’s “Hobbit” film series, a prequel to “The Lord of the Rings.”
Blanchett is not the only Lord of the Rings star to speak out about how low her salary was for the fantasy epic. Last year, Orlando Bloom, who plays Legolas, said on the Howard Stern Show that he only received $175,000 for all three films.
“I basically got free sandwiches and got to keep my (elf) ears,” Blanchett said on “Watch What Happens Live” about her “Lord of the Rings” fee.
She later said: “Women don’t earn as much as you think.”
Blanchett appeared on “Watch What Happens Live” alongside Gina Gershon to promote the sci-fi film “Borderlands,” which opens in theaters Friday.
Based on the popular video game series of the same name, Borderlands stars Blanchett as Lilith, an outlaw who returns to her home planet of Pandora after being hired by weapons manufacturer Atlas (Édgar Ramírez) to find his missing daughter. The film also stars Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Munteanu, Jack Black and Gershon as Mad Moxxi.
