Cate Blanchett reveals she wasn’t “paid anything” for Lord of the Rings

Cate Blanchett has made a staggering revelation about her time in The Lord of the Rings franchise, revealing she was sorely underpaid for her work on the film.

The Borderlands star appeared on Watch What Happens Live, where she played a round of Plead the Fifth with host Andy Cohen. After a somewhat softball question about her Borderlands wig, Cohen went on to ask about what film gave her the biggest paycheck.

After some back and forth, Cohen said he believed her work on The Lord of the Rings paid her the most, but Blanchett immediately balked at that.

“Are you kidding me? No!” Blanchett told Cohen. “No one got paid anything to do that movie.”

(Conversation starts at 0:50)

She also confirmed she didn’t receive any kind of additional payment or bonus based on how much money the film made at the box office. Blanchett only took the role because she wanted to work with the director of Braindead, saying she “basically got free sandwiches” and to keep her elf ears.

“Women don’t get as much as you think they do,” Blanchett said in closing on the subject, teasing the audience as she did.

Cate Blanchett is one of only a handful of actors to appear in all six The Lord of the Rings live-action films to date. She plays the elf Galadriel, who appears sporadically throughout the films.

The original live-action film, 2001’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, has grossed over $300 million, according to box office tracking site Box Office Mojo. The film was reportedly made on a budget of $93 million, which translates to a hefty profit – or, in Blanchett’s case, a whole lot of sandwiches.

Middle-Earth and Galadriel’s story continues in Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, which returns for Season 2 on August 29. Blanchett, meanwhile, can be seen in theaters now playing bounty hunter Lilith in Borderlands, which has already earned some fairly harsh reviews.

If you’re looking for more Borderlands, you can read all about its post-credits scene, our breakdown of Borderlands’ ending, and the differences between the movie and the game.