Cate Blanchett Says She Only Got Paid in 'Free Sandwiches' Filming $3 BillionLord of the RingsFranchise

Mar. 15, 2025

Cate Blanchettis opening up about her paycheck (or rather, lack thereof) fromThe Lord of the Rings.

OnWatch What Happens Live with Andy CohenWednesday, Aug. 7, the actress claimed she “never got paid anything” to star as Elven queen Galadriel in the popular fantasy franchise.

“I wanted to work with the guy who madeBraindead,“she continued of directorPeter Jackson. “I mean, I basically got free sandwiches. And I got to keep my ears.”

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Cate Blanchett onWatch What Happens Live with Andy CohenAug. 7, 2024.Charles Sykes/Bravo

Charles Sykes/Bravo

Cohen, 56, went on to ask Blanchett which movie she got the biggest paycheck for, but she noted that a larger payday doesn’t happen “very often.”

Added the two-timeAcademy Awardwinner, “Women don’t get paid as much as you think they do.”

TheLord of the Ringsfranchise spanned three films that went on to make almost $3 billion combined in theaters worldwide:The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring(2001),The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers(2002) andThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King(2003).

From L: Cate Blanchett as Galadriel inThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring(2001) and in Los Angeles on Jan. 15, 2023.Mary Evans/Ronald Grant/Everett Collection; Jon Kopaloff/Getty

Mary Evans/Ronald Grant/Everett Collection; Jon Kopaloff/Getty

Back in 2020, Blanchett spoke to PEOPLE about her role as conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly onMrs. America, which was a much different character and project thanThe Lord of the Rings.

An avid feminist, the actress said that she was oftentimes criticized for her left-leaning views while growing up. But today, she is proud of how far the feminist movement has come.

“Women are actually sharing their f— ups and failures and fears, andactually kind of moving forward togetherand really relishing what we’re really good at,” Blanchett said at the time. “I do think that the women are really making the elbow room, not only for themselves, but for each other.”

She added, “I think it’s really important to go back and witness how that happened within a system and what the system was like and how we can all together change the system to make it better for everybody.”

Blanchett’s new filmBorderlandsis now in theaters.

source: people.com