You may think that appearing in one of the biggest fantasy franchises to date would pay you a pretty penny, but Cate Blanchett blew that out of the park.
The Australian actress recently admitted that it was a dire situation for her when she decided to take on her role as the high elf Galadriel in the Lord of The Rings.
The films, which also starred the likes of Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean, Andy Serkis and Liv Tyler, was a staple for 2000s kids and fans of otherworldly creatures.
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But even though it grossed a whopping $898.2 million at the Box office, the two-time Oscar winner admitted that the film paid poorly.
When she appeared on Watch What Happens Live, during a game called Plead The Fifth, host Andy Cohen asked her which film brought in her biggest pay.
When he guessed that it was the franchise which paid her the most in her career, she soon stopped him in his tracks.
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Instead, she explained that she was given ‘free sandwiches’ but was not paid well at all.
When Cohen excitedly called out the franchise for potentially giving her a great payday, she said: “Are you kidding me? No, no one got paid anything to do that movie.”
Confused, Cohen then asked if she got ‘a piece in the back end’, or a percentage of the profits, the 55-year-old said: “‘No! That was way before any of that, no nothing.
“I wanted to work with the guy who made Braindead (Sir Peter Jackson). I mean, I basically got free sandwiches, and I got to keep my ears, which is something, they fed me.
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“No, no one got paid anything.”
At the time, Blanchett was there promoting her latest film Borderlands, which also stars with Kevin Hart.
She added that ‘women don’t get paid as much as you think they do’.
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However, despite her payment woes, the star is still considering making a return as Galadriel for the Lord Of The Rings spin-off if she was asked, as she’d ‘do anything with Andy Serkis’ who played Gollum.
This is because it has been confirmed that Serkis will be directing the new Gollum film which follows his character.
The announcement was made in May, and will also feature Sir Peter Jackson, who will return as the producer with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.
When at Glastonbury Festival, Blanchett was asked if she would return as her character in the film as it still has two years until it will be released in 2026, and she agreed.
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Blanchett’s the role of the powerful elven royal Galadriel was something that changed pop culture.
Having played her between 2001 and 2003, and again in 2012’s The Hobbit, her character has been hailed as bringing the JRR Tolkien world to life.
But Liv Tyler was on another level, let’s be honest.
LADbible have contacted New Line Cinema for comment.
Topics: Money, Entertainment, Lord Of The Rings, Celebrity, News
Britt Jones