Cate Blanchett Says ‘No One Got Paid Anything’ for ‘Lord of the Rings’

“The Lord of the Rings” is one of the highest-grossing film series of all time, having grossed $2.9 billion worldwide. But, according to Cate Blanchett, that doesn’t necessarily mean the actors earned a handsome salary for Peter Jackson’s critically-acclaimed film trilogy.

During “Watch What Happens Live” on Tuesday night, host Andy Cohen asked Blanchett what film she received the biggest paycheck for. “I think it’s probably ‘Lord of the Rings,’” Cohen guessed.

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

When Cohen asked her if she “got a piece of the backend,” Blanchett replied, “No! That was way before any of that. No, nothing.”

“I wanted to work with the guy who made ‘Braindead,’” she continued, referring to Jackson’s 1992 zombie comedy film, which was released as “Dead Alive” in North America.

Blanchett starred in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy as Galadriel, a royal elf in Middle-Earth who possesses powerful magical abilities. The Oscar-winning actor reprised her role in the director’s “Hobbit” film series, a prequel to “The Lord of the Rings.”

“I basically got free sandwiches, and I got to keep my [elf] ears,” Blanchett said of her “Lord of the Rings” salary.

She later said, “Women don’t get paid much as you think they do.”

Blanchett appeared on “Watch What Happens Live” alongside Gina Gershon to promote the sci-fi film “Borderlands,” in theaters Friday.

Based on the popular video game series of the same name, “Borderlands” sees Blanchett as Lilith, an outlaw who returns to her home planet of Pandora after being hired by weapons manufacturer Atlas (Édgar Ramírez) to find his missing daughter. The film also stars Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Munteanu, Jack Black and Gershon as Mad Moxxi.