Cate Blanchett says 'no one got paid' for Lord of the Rings

Cate Blanchett has claimed that "no one got paid anything" for Lord of the Rings.

The 55-year-old actress starred as Galadriel in the big-screen adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic novel series but when it was suggested that the movie was her "biggest" paycheque to date, she insisted that couldn't be further from the truth.

Speaking on Watch What Happens Live, she told host Andy Cohen: "Are you kidding me? No, no one got paid anything to do that movie."

Andy then asked the Oscar-winning star if she received a piece of the back-end — a term meaning that actors receive a percentage of box office profits upon the film's release — and insisted that that was not the case either, as she insisted her only motivation to do the film was to work with director Peter Jackson.

She said: "No, that was way before any of that … no, nothing. I wanted to work with the guy who made Braindead. I mean, I basically got free sandwiches and I got to keep my [prosthetic] ears. No, no one got paid anything!"

The Tar actress — who has a reported net worth of net worth of US$95 million (S$125 million) — was then asked to name what her biggest paycheque to date was, but remained coy and insisted only that women tend not to make the huge sums of money within the entertainment industry that may be expected or assumed by the masses.

She added: "Well, not very often. Women don't get paid as much as you think they do."

Earlier this year, Cate was participating in a United Nations press conference during the 2024 Cannes Film Festival when she described herself as a "middle-class" woman with a vested interest in helping others.

When asked about her experience as a UN goodwill ambassador and giving refugee filmmakers a platform, she said: "I'm white, I'm privileged, I'm middle class, and I think, you know, one can be accused of having a bit of a white saviour complex, but to be perfectly honest, my interaction with the refugees in the field and also in resettled environments has totally changed my perspective on the world."

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