Has there ever been a better combination of non-movie stars than the ones in the ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings‘ cast? While actors like Viggo Mortensen and Ian McKellen have unimpeachable reputations in the realm of arthouse and independent cinema, most of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ cast seem to have fine careers—before and after—as top quality character actors. The closest the ‘Lords of the Rings’ franchise ever had to a breakout movie star was Orlando Bloom, but in those days, he was hardly a household name.
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And if you’re not a movie star, you don’t make the big bucks, no matter how ambitious your project might be. In a recent appearance on The Howard Stern Show (via METRO), Bloom opened up about the minimal salary he made on the first film – and why he’s never been bothered by it. “Nothing, I got nothing. 175 grand,’ the actor told Stern, following it up with the admission that it was still the best decision he ever made as an actor. “Listen, greatest gift of my life. Are you kidding me? I’d do it again for half the money.”
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For some perspective, Bloom’s co-star Sean Astin reportedly earned a total of $250k for his work in the film. Don’t get me wrong, either $250k or $175k is a life-changing sum of money for most people, but it’s important to remember that every industry is relative. ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ grossed more than $871 million in theaters worldwide; it’s hard to make a case that actors like Bloom and Astin were compensated fairly for the success they helped create for New Line Cinema.
In the end, it sounds like the ‘Lord of the Rings’ cast was able to leverage the success of the first film into future earnings. When the time came to shoot ‘The Two Towers‘ and ‘The Return of the King‘ back-to-back, Bloom says he was able to negotiate for a considerable bonus. “I was in a good spot. They negotiated pretty well for me to buy a couple of houses, it was that kind of money.” Several houses and one relationship with Katy Perry later, Bloom is probably happy with the path his life has taken.