{"id":469,"date":"2025-04-05T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/?p=469"},"modified":"2025-04-14T02:50:49","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T02:50:49","slug":"elijah-woods-lord-of-the-rings-salary-isnt-the-only-surprisingly-low-hollywood-payday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/05\/elijah-woods-lord-of-the-rings-salary-isnt-the-only-surprisingly-low-hollywood-payday\/","title":{"rendered":"Elijah Wood\u2019s Lord of the Rings salary isn\u2019t the only surprisingly low Hollywood payday"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Elijah Wood\u2019s salary for Lord of the Rings \u2018wasn\u2019t massive\u2019 (Picture Maya Dehlin Spach\/FilmMagic)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy is one of the most successful movie series of all time \u2013 but the actors playing the Hobbits didn\u2019t exactly feel the full benefit.<\/p>\n

Directed by Peter Jackson and filmed over the course of an entire year, the Lord of the Rings films became beloved the world over and have grossed $3billion since their release.<\/p>\n

The sets used for fantasy adventure epics are still up, with the real-life locations in New Zealand still attracting millions of tourists from around the world.<\/p>\n

But Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, and Billy Boyd \u2013 the actors who played the four main Hobbits \u2013 all earned much less than you\u2019d think.<\/p>\n

After making \u00a33bn at the global box office, you\u2019d expect the film\u2019s leads to be swimming in their fortunes, but one of them has admitted that his paycheck \u2018wasn\u2019t massive\u2019 after all.<\/p>\n

Here are seven major Hollywood actors who all earned much less than expected \u2013 or were paid next to nothing \u2013 for some of their most iconic roles.<\/p>\n

Elijah Wood \u2013 The Lord of the Rings<\/h2>\n
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How much would you want to be paid to take the One Ring to Mordor? (Picture: New Line Cinema)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In an interview with Business Insider<\/a>, Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood revealed that his paycheck for doing all three movies in the trilogy \u2018wasn\u2019t massive\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Starring as Frodo Baggins, the Hobbit tasked with taking the One Ring to Mordor, Elijah was incredibly high on the cast list alongside names like Sir Ian McKellen and Orlando Bloom.<\/p>\n

But despite such a high position in the credits in three of the most successful films of all time, it turns out Elijah wasn\u2019t exactly set for life afterwards.<\/p>\n

\u2018Because we weren\u2019t making one movie and then renegotiating a contract for the next, it wasn\u2019t the sort of lucrative scenario that you could sort of rest easy for the rest of your life.\u2019<\/p>\n

The Lord of the Rings movies were all shot back-to-back over roughly an 18-month period, with completely separate scenes from The Two Towers and The Return of the King often filmed at the same time.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s never been fully disclosed exactly how much Elijah earned for playing Frodo, but his co-star Sean Astin \u2013 who played Samwise Gamgee \u2013 revealed he was paid around \u00a3190,000 for all three films. <\/p>\n

Now, you\u2019d hardly sniff at \u00a363,000 per film and we don\u2019t expect to see Elijah at job club any time soon, but considering the films grossed a figure that\u2019s 15,000 times higher, you\u2019d expect a little more to come the actors\u2019 way.<\/p>\n

George Clooney \u2013 Good Night and Good Luck<\/h2>\n
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George Clooney was paid for writing, directing, and producing\u2026 (Picture: Melinda Sue Gordon\/Warner Independent\/Kobal\/REX\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

George Clooney is one of the most famous faces in Hollywood, having starred in some of the most successful films of all time. <\/p>\n

His net worth is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions and he\u2019s won several accolades, including two Academy Awards and several Baftas and Golden Globes.<\/p>\n

An actor of such status would surely be able to demand a high salary regardless of what kind of film he was making \u2013 but that wasn\u2019t the case for his 2005 film Good Night and Good Luck.<\/p>\n

Written and directed by George, the 63-year-old (43 at the time) starred in the film as well, which went on to receive a total of six Academy Award nominations.<\/p>\n

But George was staggeringly only paid $3. That\u2019s right. He earned just a dollar each for writing, acting, and directing the film that earned a healthy 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. <\/p>\n

He explained: \u2018I didn\u2019t want to make a film that would get compromised by studio executives, so I decided to finance it myself. It was a risk, but it felt like the right thing to do. 20 years from now, you want to be able to say to people that you stood for something besides your own career.\u2019<\/p>\n

Well, it has been 20 years, and we can say that statement is true. It seems George had the last laugh anyway, with Good Night and Good Luck now a Broadway production that\u2019s raked in over \u00a32million already.<\/p>\n

Christian Bale \u2013 American Psycho\u00a0<\/h2>\n
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The make-up staff laughed at Christian Bale\u2019s paycheck (Picture: Lionsgate\/Kobal\/REX\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you haven\u2019t seen American Psycho, starring Christian Bale, then you will have definitely seen the dozens of memes the film is responsible for. <\/p>\n

A cult classic, the satirical horror film didn\u2019t make much money at first, but has slowly built up a reputation as one of the best and most popular films of the 2000s.<\/p>\n

However, Christian has revealed that his salary for working on American Psycho ultimately amounted to \u2018less than the make-up artists who worked on the film\u2019.<\/p>\n

He told GQ<\/a>: \u2018I had a house that I was sharing with my dad and my sister and that was getting repossessed. So the first thing was, \u201cHoly crap. I\u2019ve got to get a bit of money.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I remember one time, I was sitting in the make-up trailer and the make-up artists were laughing at me because I was getting paid less than any of them.\u2019<\/p>\n

He continued: \u2018So that was my motivation after that, it was just, \u201cI\u2019ve got to get enough money that the house doesn\u2019t get repossessed.\u201d\u2018<\/p>\n

Jennifer Lopez \u2013 Hustlers\u00a0<\/h2>\n
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Jennifer Lopez \u2018did Hustlers for free \u2013 and produced it\u2019 (Picture: Annapurna\/STX\/Kobal\/REX\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jennifer Lopez once insisted, in her 2002 hit song, that while she \u2018used to have a little\u2019 and \u2018now [has] a lot,\u2019 she was very much still Jenny from the block.<\/p>\n

And the superstar actress, singer, and businesswoman remembered those homely values when she landed the role of Romana Vega in the 2019 crime film Hustlers.<\/p>\n

The film made over \u00a3120million at the global box office and received a positive reaction from critics, with the film currently sitting at 88% on Rotten Tomatoes \u2013 Jennifer was even touted as a potential Oscar nominee for her role.<\/p>\n

Despite this, the Love Don\u2019t Cost a Thing hitmaker was paid absolutely nothing, telling GQ<\/a>: \u2018I didn\u2019t get paid a whole bunch of money for Hustlers.\u2019<\/p>\n

She continued: \u2018I did it for free and produced it. I bank on myself. Like Jenny From the Block \u2014 I do what I want, I do what I love,\u2019 adding that she has \u2018never been motivated by money\u2019.<\/p>\n

Jennifer did receive several best supporting actress awards for her work on the film, but Hustlers was famously snubbed by the Academy when Oscars season came around.<\/p>\n

Bill Murray \u2013 Rushmore<\/h2>\n
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Bill Murray was paid less than he offered to shoot a scene that wasn\u2019t even used (Picture: Touchstone\/Kobal\/REX\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bill Murray and film director Wes Anderson have worked together on no less than 10 films together, with the two striking up their partnership for the 1998 film Rushmore.<\/p>\n

Starring Bill alongside a young Jason Schwartzman, the independently produced film was co-written by Wes and actor Owen Wilson and barely made back its $10million budget.<\/p>\n

This means Bill took a salary of just $9,000 (\u00a36,900) for almost half a year\u2019s work, and even offered to pay \u00a325,000 for a shot of his character from the film riding in a helicopter.<\/p>\n

While Rushmore only made around $17million (\u00a313m) at the box office, Wes Anderson\u2019s career only went upwards, and the two have continued to work together since.<\/p>\n

In 2004, Wes and Bill teamed up for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, which started with a budget of $50million (\u00a339.5m), considerably higher than that of Rushmore.<\/p>\n

Hilary Swank \u2013 Boys Don\u2019t Cry<\/h2>\n
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Hilary Swank won the Oscar for best actress\u2026 for next to no pay (Picture: 20thC.Fox\/Everett\/REX\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For her performance in 1999 film Boys Don\u2019t Cry, Hilary Swank won the Academy Award for best actress, beating the likes of Laura Linney and Ellen Burstyn.<\/p>\n

The emotional film, which has since been added to America\u2019s National Film Registry, depicted the real-life story of transgender man Brandon Teena, who was murdered in 1993.<\/p>\n

Hilary, who was one of the biggest names in Hollywood through the 1990s and 2000s, was paid just $3,000 (\u00a32,300) for her work on the film, which took almost two months for Hilary to complete.<\/p>\n

In fact, her salary was so low that Hilary wasn\u2019t able to secure health insurance with the amount she was paid, which required a payment of $5,000 to qualify.<\/p>\n

The film currently boasts a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average score of 7.9 out of 10, with Hilary\u2019s performance in particular praised by critics.<\/p>\n

Sir Christopher Lee \u2013 The Wicker Man<\/h2>\n
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Sir Christopher Lee promoted The Wicker Man after waiving his salary (Picture: Studio Canal\/REX\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We started this list with a Lord of the Rings star, so we\u2019ll end it with another \u2013 Sir Christopher Lee played the wizard Saruman in the Peter Jackson trilogy.<\/p>\n

But way before he was playing evil wizards, Sir Christopher was the lead in the legendary 1973 folk horror film The Wicker Man, also starring Edward Woodward.<\/p>\n

The film follows the story of Woodward\u2019s Sgt. Howie, who visits the fictional north Scottish island of Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl.<\/p>\n

What he finds there is a community that has abandoned Christianity and embraced a violent and sinister form of ancient Celtic paganism.<\/p>\n

Made on a budget of just \u00a3470,000 (equivalent to \u00a35m in 2025), Sir Christopher was so passionate about The Wicker Man that he waived his salary just to get the film made.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, Sir Christopher reached out to every film critic or writer he knew and asked them if they could spread the word themselves in order for the film to make back its money.<\/p>\n

When the film was released in the United States in 1975, he travelled over the Atlantic, paying out of his own pocket, to advertise and promote the film in America himself.<\/p>\n

Got a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff<\/a> page \u2013 we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elijah Wood\u2019s salary for Lord of the Rings \u2018wasn\u2019t massive\u2019 (Picture Maya Dehlin Spach\/FilmMagic) The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy is one of the most successful movie series of all time \u2013 but the actors playing the Hobbits didn\u2019t exactly feel the full benefit. Directed by Peter Jackson and filmed over the course of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=469"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":480,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469\/revisions\/480"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}