On 6 March, actor Elijah Wood, attended The Texas Film Awards, hosted by the Austin Film society, where he gave a red carpet interview to Business Insider. During the conversation, the 'Yellowjackets" actor shared that starring in the "Lord of the Rings" franchise was not as financially rewarding, despite the films being part of a multi-million dollar franchise.
"It wasn't the sort of lucrative scenario that you could sort of rest easy for the rest of your life."
The "Happy Feet" voice actor also noted that that director Peter Jackson took a calculated risk, by deciding to film all three films back to back without any breaks. Elijah Wood describes it as a "real gamble," emphasizing that no one knew how the films would perform at the box office at the time.
More about why Elijah Wood did not secure a huge deal from his role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy
In his conversation with Business Insider, Elijah Wood further explained that since the deal involved shooting the movies in close succession, the cast never had the opportunity to renegotiate their contracts based on the films' outstanding performance at the box office. Elijah Wood stated:
"Because we weren't making one movie and then renegotiating a contract for the next."
Elijah Wood, played the Hobbit Frodo Baggins in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy that went on to gross $2.9 billion worldwide, despite being made on a $281 million budget, according to People Magazine.
The "Lord of the Rings" fantasy trilogy remains one of the most successful film franchises ever created, with director Peter Jackson's interpretation widely regarded as a masterpiece by many.
The "Green Street" actor further shared that despite not making a significant amount of money from his fan favorite role, the experience and memories he gathered while filming the trilogy is something he shall always treasure.
"The benefit of that was that we were also signing up for something that was going to be a part of our lives forever,"
Elijah Wood is not the only one who has reflected on how much the actors of the franchise earned while filming the movies. Orlando Bloom, during a conversation on The Howard Stern show, admitted to being paid $175,000 for his role as Legolas, the Elvan prince. Similarly, Cate Blanchett, in an interview on "Watch What Happens with Andy Cohen," confirmed that the cast did not receive massive salaries, where she jokingly added:
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"No one got paid anything to do that movie. I basically got free sandwiches, and I got to keep my ears as pay"
Elijah Wood currently stars as Walter Tattersall in the third season of the fan-favorite Showtime TV show, "Yellowjackets."
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