“The Lord of the Rings”: Was Cate Blanchett paid in sandwiches?

Cate Blanchett (55) apparently earned a lot less than one might assume for her role as Galadriel in the “Lord of the Rings” film trilogy. The famous Hollywood actress even talks about receiving virtually only sandwiches as payment. Her motivation for filming with director Peter Jackson (62) was therefore not the money. Blanchett revealed this in a conversation with presenter Andy Cohen (56).

Sandwiches and artificial ears

When asked by Cohen which film earned her the most money, Blanchett lets the moderator guess. He guesses: “I think it’s probably ‘The Lord of the Rings’.” The actress responds with an almost indignant: “Are you kidding?”

Although Jackson’s trilogy 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” grossed a combined total of more than $2.9 billion at the box office, Blanchett apparently didn’t see much of it. “No, nobody got paid anything for the film,” says the 55-year-old. And even in retrospect, she was apparently not compensated any extra: “No! That was long before all of this. No, nothing.”

“Women don’t get as much money as you think”

Blanchett, who later appeared as Galadriel in the “Hobbit” films, explains that she wanted to “work for the guy” who made “Braindead.” Jackson had caused a stir with this film, which was first banned in Germany in 1993, long before “The Lord of the Rings.” “I basically got free sandwiches and was allowed to [künstlichen] Keep your ears open,” the actress explains, adding: “Women don’t get paid as much as you think.”

But it was not only actresses who apparently received comparatively little for “The Lord of the Rings” back then. Legolas actor Orlando Bloom (47) said that his fee for the entire trilogy was 175,000 US dollars.