When Cate Blanchett Played Galadriel: The Inside Story

Picture this: the iconic Lord of the Rings franchise raking in an impressive $2 billion at the box office. But here's the twist—Cate Blanchett, who played the ethereal elf Galadriel, didn’t exactly cash in on that gold mine! At 55 years old, Blanchett recently sat down with Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen and revealed the truth behind her earnings from the Middle Earth epic. When Andy guessed that the trilogy must have lined her pockets with some serious cash, Blanchett couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you kidding me? No, nobody got paid anything to do that movie,” she said, setting the record straight.

A Hollywood Truth: The Gender Pay Gap

Blanchett, who’s currently starring in Borderlands, used the moment to highlight a bigger issue in Hollywood: the gender pay gap. “Women don’t get paid as much as you think they do,” she told Andy. Despite that, she was thrilled to work with director Peter Jackson, the mastermind behind Braindead. “I wanted to work with the guy who made Braindead,” she admitted. “I mean, I basically got [paid in] free sandwiches, and I got to keep my [elf] ears!” Talk about dedication to craft.

Who Got Paid What in Middle Earth?

While Blanchett stayed tight-lipped about her exact earnings, reports suggest that her fellow cast members weren’t exactly raking it in either—at least not at first. For instance, Orlando Bloom, who played Legolas, reportedly earned $175,000 for his role. Sean Astin, the beloved Samwise Gamgee, took home $250,000. And Elijah Wood, the face of Frodo, saw his paycheck jump from $250,000 for the first film to a cool $1 million by the third installment. Still, it’s clear that for many of these actors, the experience was worth far more than the money.