Cate Blanchett has claimed “no one got paid anything” to star in The Lord of the Rings franchise.

Although the Peter Jackson trilogy was one of the highest-grossing movie series of all time, Blanchett has laughed off rumours of a substantial salary for her appearance as royal elf Galadriel.

During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen asked Blanchett which film had earned her the biggest pay check, before he guessed it was The Lord of the Rings.

“Are you kidding me?” Blanchett replied. “No, no one got paid anything to do that movie.”

Cohen then asked if she “got a piece of the backend”, to which Blanchett answered, “No! That was way before any of that. No, nothing.”

Blanchett revealed that despite the lowly salary, she was thrilled to land the role because she wanted to “work with the guy who made Braindead”, a reference to Jackson’s 1992 zombie comedy.

Blanchett then went on to joke that she was paid in free food and memorable items from Galadriel’s wardrobe.

“I basically got free sandwiches, and I got to keep my (elf) ears,” Blanchett said.

Later in the interview the 55-year-old actress insisted, “Women don’t get paid much as you think they do.”

The star was appearing on the show to promote her new movie Borderlands.

Blanchett isn’t the only Lord of the Rings cast member to bemoan their salary.

Last year Orlando Bloom, who played Legolas, claimed he earned just $170,000 for appearing in the trilogy.

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