Lord Of The Rings star admits they 'didn't get paid anything' for trilogy

The Lord of the Rings trilogy written by J.R.R Tolkien is one of the most important tales of all time that continue to inspire generations.

In 2001, we got what was the start of arguably the best novel-to-movie adaptation of all time, with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring directed by Peter Jackson, followed by The Two Towers and The Return of the King.

Check out The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring trailer below!

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring had a star-studded cast including the likes of Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Sir Christopher Lee (Saruman), Elijah Wood (Frodo), Orlando Bloom (Legolas) and many more. It also starred the worldly treasure that is Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, who also starred in the recent Borderlands movie as Lilith.

I’m not familiar with how much each star was paid, but I would assume that it would in some part be based on status and talent. So it would perhaps be safe to assume that the likes of Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Christopher Lee and Cate Blanchett would be paid similar amounts, right?

Well, that is not the case, according to Cate Blanchett. As reported by comicbook.com, the actress claimed to have not been “paid anything”. Now, I am sure she was paid something and it’s an exaggerated statement, as I doubt very much she worked for free, but it might be safe to assume that she wasn't the highest-paid member of the cast.

When appearing on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Blanchet was asked if The Lord of the Rings was her highest-paid gig and she replied “Are you kidding me?! No, I didn't get paid anything to do that movie!” and alluded to women not getting paid anywhere near the amount of men.

She went on to say that a main motivation to work in The Lord of the Rings was Peter Jackson, who had previously directed a favourite movie of hers, Braindead and that she was also paid in free sandwiches (again, a humorous exaggeration, I’m sure).

Hopefully, Cate Blanchett got paid more for her services in movie projects that followed The Lord of the Rings because I think we can agree, that she is worthy of being paid in line with other top actors in the industry, regardless of her gender.