Star of "The Lord of the Rings" reveals: "I earned very little - and had to sell the house"
Actor Sean Astin said the meager salary he received for the original trilogy left him in financial distress. According to him, he was forced to part with his house due to a huge gap between the global success of the films and the compensation he received.
Two decades after the original "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, the fantasy saga is expected to return to theaters. The film "The Hunt for Gollum," directed by Andy Serkis, is currently being produced in New Zealand and is expected to reach screens in December 2027. Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen will return to play Frodo Baggins and Gandalf, while Jamie Dornan is set to play Aragorn and Kate Winslet is expected to play Marigold.
While production is gaining momentum, Sean Astin, who played Samwise Gamgee, says the salary he negotiated for the original trilogy left him in a position where he had to sell his house.
He described a gap between the global fame that came with the films and the compensation he received:
"There was a disconnect between the attention I was getting and how much money we had," Astin told the British newspaper The Guardian.
Astin recalled his financial distress and noted: "It wasn't a lot of money. In fact, I had to sell my house because I negotiated such a small amount for the trilogy."
According to reports, his base salary was about $75,000 per film. Before his salary arrived, he purchased a house but was forced to sell the property.
Despite the period of financial pressure, Astin says his situation has changed. He added that if he returns to new "Lord of the Rings" projects, "I would definitely ask for better pay this time."
The payment structure also applied to other members of the cast. Orlando Bloom, who played Legolas, said he received only $175,000 for all three films combined. In this context, Cate Blanchett previously revealed how many in the team felt, saying that the actors "basically got free sandwiches" for the trilogy.
Elijah Wood explained that the studio's approach to filming all three movies at once meant that the actors could not renegotiate based on the success of each individual film. The choice to create the trilogy in one continuous production forced the actors to lock in their agreements at the beginning of the process.
