Sean Astin captured the hearts of fantasy fans everywhere when he starred as Samwise Gamgee in the “Lord of the Rings” but says the compensation was not what one would expect.
In a new interview with The Guardian, the 55-year-old actor shared just how “small” his payday was for the successful Academy Award-winning trilogy.
“I was not prepared for that level of visibility and access,” he said. “And there was a disconnect between the attention that I was getting and how much money we had. It was not a lot of money. In fact, I had to sell my house because I negotiated such a small amount on the trilogy.”
He revealed in a November 2017 interview on the “Jim and Sam Show” that he made $250,000 for his work on the trilogy in addition to some profit from merchandise sales, but no residuals.
The “Stranger Things” star said he had purchased a home in Los Angeles and was told he needed to make $250,000 a year to pay the mortgage when he got the role in the films.
“It was an offer for $250,000 for a year and a half,” he said. “And I was like, ‘Wait a minute, my pen signed this contract, which obligated me to $250,000 a year, and I’m gonna sign this contract, which will make it so that I absolutely cannot satisfy that other thing.'”
He added that, in the end, it was all about negotiating. He also clarified that by the time the third movie was released, he “was feeling a little bit better” in terms of finances.
“By then, I had done a lot of other work, and we were fine,” he added.
Astin’s co-star in the first installment of the trilogy, Cate Blanchett, who played Galadriel, also spoke about how little she was paid for her role, telling Andy Cohen in an August 2024 episode of “Watch What Happens Live,” “No one got paid anything to do that movie.”
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“I wanted to work with the guy who made ‘Braindead,'” she said about why she took the role despite the low pay. “I mean, I basically got free sandwiches. And I got to keep my ears, which is something.”
Other cast members, including Orlando Bloom and Elijah Wood, have also spoken about how little they were paid for their work in the films, with Bloom telling Howard Stern in 2019 he was paid $175,000 for the trilogy.
Also starring Viggo Mortensen, Sean Bean and Ian McKellen, the trilogy became a huge blockbuster success.
The first film, “Fellowship of the Ring,” raked in about $897 million at the worldwide box office, with its sequels bringing in about $945 million and $1.15 billion, respectively.
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All three films were also critically acclaimed, earning a combined 30 Academy Award nominations and 17 wins. The third film alone, “Return of the King,” won all 11 categories it was nominated in, including best picture, tying the record for the most Oscars won by a single film.
