While "The Lord of the Rings" grossed $2.9 billion worldwide, cast members were not well-compensated in Peter Jackson's film trilogy, actor Cate Blanchett said.
Blanchett, who starred as Royal elf Galadriel in the film franchise, made the claim during an appearance on "Watch What Happens Live" in response to a question by Andy Cohen about what film led to her biggest paycheck.
"I think it's probably 'Lord of the Rings,'" Cohen said according to Variety.
"Are you kidding me?" Blanchett replied. "No, no one got paid anything to do that movie."
Cohen pushed the topic, asking if she "got a piece of the backend," but Blanchett doubled down on her claims.
"No. That was way before any of that. No, nothing," she said.
"I wanted to work with the guy who made 'Braindead,'" she continued, referring to Jackson's 1992 zombie comedy film.
Orlando Bloom, who played Legolas, shared a similar story when he said during a 2019 interview on "The Howard Stern Show" that he was paid $175,000 for all three movies.
"I basically got free sandwiches, and I got to keep my [elf] ears," Blanchett said, later adding, "Women don't get paid as much as you think they do."
Blanchett is not the only female star to touch upon the topic of pay disparity in Hollywood in recent months. In April, Kirsten Dunst revealed that she "'didn't even think to ask" about the gap between her salary and that of the male lead actor in the same film.
"I definitely grew up in a time of major pay disparity between the lead actor and myself," she told the BBC.
Dunst did not specify what film and who her male co-star was in the interview, but it is widely speculated that Dunst is referring to the Sam Raimi-directed "Spider-Man" starring Tobey Maguire.
"Even though I had been in 'Bring It On' and he hadn't … I had more success in my box office than he did," Dunst said. "I was 17, I was still learning, at that age I'm still learning my taste in film, I didn't even think to ask. I didn't even know there was a place to challenge it. That's how it is at 17."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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