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

Cate Blanchett says that “no one got paid anything” on Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies.

Blanchett, who is now starring in Eli Roth’s Borderlands movie, previously Galadriel in Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, which includes 2001’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings, 202’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and 2003’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Shen then reprised her role in Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, which includes 2012’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, 2013’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and 2014’s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

What did Cate Blanchett say about her Lord of the Rings paycheck?

During a recent episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Blanchett was asked what movie she’s done gave her the biggest paycheck.

When Cohen hypothesized that it could be Lord of the Rings, Blanchett responded, “Are you kidding me? No. No one got paid anything to do that movie.”

When asked if she got a “piece of the backend” by Cohen, Blanchett said, “No! That was way before any of that. No, nothing. I wanted to work with the guy who made Braindead. I mean, I basically got free sandwiches and I got to keep my ears.”

Braindead is a 1992 zombie comedy horror movie directed by Jackson that was released under the title Dead Alive in North America. It starred Timothy Balme, Diana Peñalver, Elizabeth Moody, and Ian Watkin.

Jackson serves as an executive producer on the next Lord of the Rings movie, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, which will be released in United States theaters this coming December. The animated film is set before the events of Jackson’s trilogy and tells the story of a king named Helm Hammerhand (voiced by Brian Cox).

Brandon Schreur

Brandon Schreur has been writing about comics, movies, television shows, and all things pop culture for roughly five years. He's a lifelong cinephile who spends way, way too much money buying Blu-rays and trade paperbacks. You can find him on twitter at @brandonschreur.