‘The Lord of The Rings’ made almost $3 billion at the box office — so you might be surprised by how much its actors got paid

Cate Blanchett as Galadriel and Orlando Bloom as Legolas in “The Lord of the Rings.”

“The Lord of The Rings” is one of the most lucrative movie franchises of all time, so you might think its actors were paid big bucks — particularly considering the careers they’ve enjoyed since.

But a recent interview with Cate Blanchett, who played the elf Galadriel, laid bare how relatively little the cast got paid for starring in movies that made almost $3 billion at the box office, and provided the momentum for “The Hobbit” trilogy, which made a further $2.9 billion.

The legacy of the beloved films, which cemented actors like Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood, and Viggo Mortensen as Hollywood royalty, has also been somewhat tarnished by financial legal disputes over the years.

Rob Mitchell, the director of theatrical insights at Gower Street Analytics, told B-17 the actors’ salaries were likely relatively low because the film was a risk for the studio and it had a large cast. New Line Cinema spent $281 million on making the trilogy, according to Box Office Mojo. That’s the equivalent of $514 million today.

“For them to greenlight three ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies was a huge gamble, and basically the money was all going into the films. I can also understand they wouldn’t necessarily have had huge paydays for the actors because it is an ensemble film,” he said.

Here’s what we know about who was paid what for “The Lord of the Rings.”

Cate Blanchett said she “basically got free sandwiches”

Cate Blanchett as Galadriel in “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.”

On “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” in August, Cate Blanchett was asked about her biggest salary. Cohen guessed it was for playing Galadriel.

“Are you kidding me? No, no one got paid anything to do that movie,” Blanchett responded.

Blanchett added she didn’t make a backend deal with the studio — something that would have guaranteed her a slice of the profits once the film was released.

“No, that was way before any of that, no, nothing. I wanted to work with the guy who made ‘Braindead,'” she said, referring to Peter Jackson. “I mean, I basically got free sandwiches, and I got to keep my ears. No, no one got paid anything!”

Mitchell said backend deals were common in Hollywood well before “The Lord of the Rings,” giving the example of Jack Nicholson taking a salary cut for the original “Batman,” but making an “absolute fortune” from a backend deal. Bruce Willis made a similar move with “The Sixth Sense,” as did Tom Hanks for “Forrest Gump.”

“The key difference is those are all singular, huge stars in a film where [the actors] already have a bankable quality and will already have an expectation of a certain salary,” he said.

Orlando Bloom got $175,000 for playing Legolas

Orlando Bloom as Legolas in “The Lord of the Rings.”

While taking a retrospective look at his career on “The Howard Stern Show” in 2019, Orlando Bloom said working with iconic actors such as Ian McKellen and Christopher Lee was a “magical time,” but like Blanchett, he said didn’t get paid much for the trilogy. Bloom was 22 years old when the studio signed him.

Asked how much he was paid, laughing, the actor responded: “Nothing, nothing, nothing. I got nothing. $175 grand for three movies.”

He continued: “No listen, greatest gift of my life, are you kidding me? You’d do it again for half the money.”

Sean Astin made $250,000 for the trilogy and sold his house after filming

Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee in “Lord of the Rings.” 

Sean Astin played Samwise Gamgee, a hobbit who accompanies his best friend, Frodo (Elijah Wood) on his quest to throw the ring into the fires of Mount Doom.

Although the “The Goonies” actor had a vital role in the franchise, he told the “Jim & Sam Show” in 2017 that he made around $250,000 for all three movies and subsequently had to sell his house.

Astin explained that he bought a house with a $250,000-a-year mortgage before filming started, but he didn’t make enough from the movie to afford it.

“I did the audition process and got offered ‘Lord of the Rings,’ and it was an offer for $250,000 for a year and a half,” he said. “And I was like ‘Wait a minute, my pen signed this contract which obligated me to $250,000 a year and I’m gonna sign this contract which will make it so that I absolutely cannot satisfy that other thing.'”

He continued: “So it was $75,000 a movie. No residuals.”

Astin suggested that New Line Cinema paid the cast more by the time “The Return of the King” arrived in theaters in 2003.

“We agreed not to talk about it, but when it came time to do publicity for the third film, I was feeling a little bit better, is that a good way to get around that?” he said.

It’s unclear how much Elijah Wood got paid for the leading role

Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins in “The Lord of the Rings.”

Elijah Wood has not publicly commented on his salary.

He likely also made an agreement with New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. not to speak about pay — as Astin alluded to in his 2017 interview.

Representatives for Wood declined to comment when contacted by B-17.

Andy Serkis and Ian McKellen were reportedly the highest-paid actors in the cast, but this is unconfirmed

Andy Serkis as Gollum and Ian McKellen as Gandalf in “The Lord of the Rings.”

Rumours online suggest that the likes of McKellen and Andy Serkis were paid more because they were established in Hollywood, but their salaries have never publicly disclosed.

Representatives for Serkis and McKellen did not respond to B-17’s requests for comment.

Director Peter Jackson sued New Line Cinema over profits in 2005

Peter Jackson was the director of “The Lord of the Rings.” 

In 2005, director Peter Jackson took legal action against New Line Cinema, claiming that he was underpaid by $100 million in respect of the $3 billion that the trilogy made.

Eventually, the two parties settled in 2007 for an undisclosed amount. This led to Jackson reuniting with the studio to work on “The Hobbit” trilogy.

Jackson wasn’t the only one who sued over profits: 15 background actors and extras filed a suit against the studio over merchandise featuring their likeness. In 2008, one of the actors involved, Bruce Hopkins, told fansite theonering.net that the group had settled with the studio after 16 months of litigation.

It’s unclear how much they each received, although Hopkins implied it wasn’t as much as people might think.

“A couple of actors may be able to have a decent holiday this year, while most will simply be able to buy some new board shorts, a couple of bottles of nice wine, and maybe get a haircut in anticipation of their next role in a record-breaking global blockbuster!” he wrote.

Representatives for Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the settlement.