Elijah Wood has been seeing the greatest rewards that acting can offer over the last several years, performing in films like The Toxic Avenger and television shows like Yellowjackets. However, one of the most popular films that the actor has been a part of is The Lord of the Rings franchise. Created by J.R.R. Tolkien as an answer to the mystical lore and beginnings of England, the franchise also sparked a multi-billion dollar franchise spanning comics, books, games, television shows, and more. However, that doesn’t mean that when the films were first being talked about, the cast members got the paydays of their lives. In fact, Wood describes the pay as being incredibly low for what it ended up becoming.
Renowned for playing the character of Frodo Baggins, Elijah Wood revealed the modest salaries that the all-star cast received during filming. Of course, looking back, I don’t think that anyone knew the three-film series would take off as well as it did. Wood stated that the contracts per film couldn’t be negotiated because the trilogy was planned from the very beginning, locking actors into their roles.
“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.”
When asked about the franchise, Wood said it was “a real gamble” resulting in “not massive salaries.” For context, Orlando Bloom, who plays Legolas, earned a whopping $175,000 in total for all three films. Sean Astin, famous for his portrayal of Samwise Gamgee, also revealed that he only received $250,000 for the trilogy. There are houses in the United States that cost more than what the two of them received together to play such iconic characters. Even Cate Blanchett, Galadriel, joked about having to work in exchange for sandwiches. Despite the comments, the cast felt incredibly lucky and blessed to be a part of such a magical franchise.
However, the pay that the cast received for The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one thing. Everyone could rest a little easier once the films were officially released as they grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide, propelling the careers of much of the cast. At the end of the day, the story behind The Lord of the Rings films contributed to its being one of the most significant impacts in cinematic history to this day. I’d love to see anyone try to take on this franchise as director Peter Jackson did.
