Elijah Wood Says ‘Lord of the Rings’ Didn’t Pay Enough Where ‘You Could Rest Easy for the Rest of Your Life’: ‘Not Massive Salaries’ but ‘It Doesn’t Matter’

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As a die-hard film enthusiast, I can’t help but chime in on the recent discussions surrounding the relatively modest salaries the cast of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy received, despite the monumental success that generated close to $3 billion at global box offices. More recently, Elijah Wood has been drawn into this conversation. Just like Cate Blanchett, who brought Galadriel to life in the franchise, went viral last August for her candid statement on “Watch What Happens Live,” admitting that “no one got paid anything” for making the movie. She humorously added that she essentially received free sandwiches and got to keep her elf ears as compensation.

During an interview with Business Insider at the 2025 Texas Film Awards, Wood openly shared that his earnings for “Rings” weren’t substantial, considering he was the main character, Frodo. Yet, he expressed no concern about this matter.

Wood explained that unlike some situations where a single movie is made and then a new contract is negotiated for the next project, it wasn’t like that with Jackson and New Line Cinema’s “Rings” movies because they filmed all three back-to-back. This meant that one film didn’t have a chance to hit theaters before the next one started filming, and as a result, there were no opportunities for contract renegotiations based on the franchise’s box office success.

Wood remarked that New Line Cinema took a significant risk by filming all three movies simultaneously, a decision enabled by not offering extravagant salaries to the actors. He further stated: “The advantage was that we were also committing ourselves to something that would become an integral part of our lives for good.

In a 2019 interview on “The Howard Stern Show,” Orlando Bloom, known for his role as Legolas, revealed he earned approximately $175,000 for all three Lord of the Rings movies. Sean Astin, who frequently acted alongside Wood as Samwise Gamgee, later disclosed he was paid around $250,000 for the films. Business Insider inquired about Wood’s earnings compared to Astin, to which the actor responded that the given figure was not accurate and emphasized that the impact “Rings” had on his career and life was immeasurable.

In response to Cate Blanchett’s sandwich remark, Wood found it amusing and commented, “Statements like that aren’t meant with any anger. Working on those movies has been an honor, and they hold some of the most cherished memories of my career.

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2025-04-03 00:46