Lord of the Rings' Sean Astin had to sell his house after negotiating ‘small’ trilogy salary
Sean Astin rose to fame as a child star over four decades ago, when he starred as Mikey Walsh in The Goonies. Almost two decades later, he landed a role as Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of The Rings, but behind the scenes, it wasn't all glitz and glamor.
The first film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring, released in 2001, which launched Astin into worldwide stardom. However, the now 55-year-old reveals that he wasn't ready for what was to come his way.
“I was not prepared for that level of visibility and access,” he told the Guardian. “And there was a disconnect between the attention that I was getting and how much money we had."
Astin went on to reveal that it was 'not a lot of money,' and in fact - had to sell his house.
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"I negotiated such a small amount on the trilogy," he revealed, although confirmed he was now 'very comfortable' financially.
In 2017, Astin revealed on the Jim & Sam Show that he had been offered '$250,000 for a year and a half,' but had signed a $250,000-a-year mortgage before he began filming.
"I did the audition process and got offered Lord of the Rings, and it was an offer for $250,000 for a year and a half," he revealed.
"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.'"
Breaking it down, the Hollywood star revealed that he got paid '$75,000 a movie with no residuals'.
Unlike many other film franchises, where fans can be waiting years for the next movie, Lord of the Rings released three films between 2001-2003.
However, later on in the Jim & Sam Show, Astin did reveal that he 'was in a better financial position' by the third film, although he didn't say much more.
"We agreed not to talk about it, but when it came time to do publicity for the third film, I was feeling a little bit better, is that a good way to get around that?" he questioned.
How much did the rest of the Lord of the Rings cast get paid?
Astin isn't the only cast member to have spoken out about what they received for the movies. A-List actor Orlando Bloom, who was just 22 years old when he was signed for the role of Legolas. Almost two decades and a heck of a career later, Bloom sat down on The Howard Stern Show in 2019, and spilled all, when asked how much he was paid.
"Nothing, nothing, nothing. I got nothing. $175 grand for three movies," he said.
However, he'd redo the 'magical' time all over again for half the money, telling Stern the role that put him on the map was the 'greatest gift of his life'.
Cate Blanchett has also spoken about the pay on an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in which he believed her role as Galadriel was her highest paying.
"Are you kidding me?" she laughed. "No, no one got paid anything to do that movie."
Topics: Lord of the Rings, Entertainment, Celebrity, Money
Kiesha Dosanjh