Elijah Wood’s Lord of the Rings Paycheck Was Actually Pretty Small

The Lord of the Rings stars have been open about their surprisingly not impressive paycheck. Another star just opened up about it.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson, is based on the novels by J.R.R. Tolkien and produced by New Line Cinema. The three movies — The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) — are critical and commercial success. The trilogy grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide. The Return of the King alone earned $1.1 billion and won 11 Oscars, including Best Picture. Overall, the franchise won 17 Academy Awards. Despite its impressive track record, the actors didn’t receive remarkable paychecks. One of them recently talked about their earnings from the blockbuster movies, which weren’t as huge as many expected.

Related

‘It Destroyed the Original’ Lord of the Rings Star Named the One Movie He’d Remove From Cinema History

Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood would eliminate one particular movie from existence if he had the chance.

Elijah Wood, who portrayed the main protagonist in the movie Frodo Baggins, attended the 2025 Texas Film Awards. At the event, he spoke about his paycheck from The Lord of The Rings and it wasn’t as “lucrative” as the movies’ earnings. “Because we weren’t making one movie and then renegotiating a contract for the next, it wasn’t the sort of lucrative scenario that you could sort of rest easy for the rest of your life,” he explained to Business Insider. He added that the director took “a real gamble” by deciding to shoot the three movies simultaneously. Wood’s revelation wasn’t really surprising because he wasn’t the first and only one who spoke about the case.

In 2018, Sean Astin, who portrayed hobbit Samwise Gamgee, a loyal companion to Frodo, also spoke about the same case when he appeared on Jim and Sam Show. According to him, he received “75 grand a movie.” The money he received wasn’t enough to pay for the house he purchased before landing the project. A year later, in 2019, Orland Bloom, who portrayed the fan-favorite unstoppable fighter Legolas, also spoke about his paycheck on The Howard Stern Show. He only received $175,000 for all three movies. However, Bloom was not a household name before the trilogy. His role in the film catapulted him to fame, which was probably why he still considered The Lord of the Rings the “greatest gift of my life.” Cate Blanchett, who portrayed the powerful royal elf Galadriel had similar experience with her co-stars. In 2024, she appeared on Watch What Happens Live and Andy Cohen asked him about a project where she made the most money. The host guessed it was probably The Lord of the Rings. “Are you kidding me?” Blanchett told Cohen. “No, no one got paid anything to do that movie.” According to Blanchett, she only received “free sandwiches” and was able to keep her “[elf] ears.”

There were several reasons why the actors who starred in The Lord of the Rings trilogy were underpaid. At the time, the budget for the film was reportedly tight and most of the money was spent on special effects, sets, and location filming. Also, the project was considered a risky investment, so the actors were offered a modest salary. Additionally, at the time, the stars didn’t have profit participation, so they didn’t enjoy the box office earnings. Since there was no guaranteed success due to the huge scale of the movie, the actors agreed to receive lower salaries. Maybe others were hopeful that it could work and make them a household name. In Bloom’s case, it worked. Meanwhile, Blanchett had other motivations for saying “yes” to the project. According to her, she wanted to work with Jackson, who directed the 1992 zombie movie Braindead. So, they had different motivations. Regardless, The Lord of the Rings made the actors in the film a household name, but their pay didn’t match its grandeur.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is available to stream on Max.

More

Lord of the Rings’ Sauron Actually Has a Terrifying Form Under the Iconic Movie Armor

Lord of the Rings’ Sauron, the Dark Lord, has a frightening shape under his armor that many fans have yet to see.

Source: Business Insider