“The Lord of the Rings” is one of the most successful movie franchises ever, with $2.9 billion in global box office receipts. However, Cate Blanchett says it does not always imply the actors got paid a lot of money to be in Peter Jackson’s three films. Tuesday night’s host of “Watch What Happens Live,” Andy Cohen, questioned Blanchett about the movie for which she earned the largest salary. Cohen speculated, “It’s probably ‘Lord of the Rings.'”
“Are you kidding me?” Blanchett responded. “No, no one got paid anything to do that movie.” Blanchett answered, “No!” Cohen inquired if she “got a piece of the backend. She stated, “That was way before any of that. No, nothing.”
She went on, “I wanted to work with the guy who made ‘Braindead,'” alluding to Jackson’s 1992 zombie satire, which came out in North America under the title “Dead Alive.”
Within the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, Blanchett played the role of Galadriel, a Middle-Earth queen elf with strong magical talents. As a precursor to “The Lord of the Rings,” the filmmaker’s “Hobbit” film trilogy included the Oscar-winning performer reprising her part.
With regards to her “Lord of the Rings” pay, Blanchett remarked, “I basically got free sandwiches and I got to keep my [elf] ears.”
“Women don’t get paid as much as you think they do,” she further stated.
Blanchett and Gina Gershon made an appearance on “Watch What Happens Live” for advertising the science fiction movie “Borderlands,” which opens in theaters this Friday.