Elijah Wooden says he wasn’t paid sufficient to retire for all times for his function in Peter Jackson’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy.
The actor confirmed his earnings weren’t as substantial as the general public suppose – regardless of main the franchise as Frodo Baggins.
Talking on the 2025 Texas Movie Awards, the 44-year-old actor mentioned: “As a result of we weren’t making one film after which renegotiating a contract for the following, it wasn’t the form of profitable state of affairs that you would form of relaxation straightforward for the remainder of your life.”
Peter’s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic ‘LoTR’, launched between 2001 and 2003, grossed practically $3 billion worldwide and received a record-equalling 11 Oscars for its last instalment, ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’.
The movies, shot back-to-back in New Zealand over an prolonged manufacturing interval, have remained cultural touchstones.
However the forged members have incessantly commented on the comparatively modest pay they obtained on the time.
Cate Blanchett, 55, who portrayed Galadriel within the movies, went viral in August 2024 when she mentioned on ‘Watch What Occurs Dwell’ “nobody acquired paid something to try this film”.
She added: “I mainly acquired free sandwiches and I acquired to maintain my (elf) ears.”
Elijah, responding to Cate’s feedback, mentioned to Enterprise Insider: “That’s hilarious… statements like that aren’t made with any type of ire. It’s such an honour to have been part of these movies, and so they characterize a few of the greatest experiences of my life.”
Orlando Bloom, 48, who performed Legolas within the fantasy sequence, beforehand revealed in a 2019 interview on ‘The Howard Stern Present’ he was paid simply $175,000 for all three movies.
And Sean Astin, 54, who starred as Samwise Gamgee, later claimed he earned round $250,000 for the trilogy.
When requested if his wage matched Sean’s, his co-star Elijah declined to substantiate, however mentioned “it doesn’t matter” as a result of the worth the movies had on his profession and life was “priceless.”
Elijah additionally acknowledged distributors New Line Cinema took a “actual gamble” on the venture, saying the studio was capable of take such a danger by providing “not huge salaries” to the actors.
He added: “The good thing about that was that we had been additionally signing up for one thing that was going to be part of our lives without end.”
The dialogue round actors’ pay in main franchises has gained renewed consideration in Hollywood following final yr’s SAG-AFTRA strike, which centered on honest compensation and residuals for streaming-era productions.
Director Peter has not publicly commented on the newest remarks from the ‘Lord of the Rings’ forged.
