Elijah Wood, the man who bravely carried a cursed piece of jewelry across Middle-earth (and made us all question our friendships—where’s MY Samwise?), is finally talking money. And spoiler alert: he didn’t exactly make Smaug-levels of cash.
The now 44-year-old (yes, you’re old now too, deal with it) actor dished about his Lord of the Rings salary at the 2025 Texas Film Awards. Speaking with Business Insider, he admitted that despite the franchise raking in an absurd $2.9 billion worldwide (seriously, Jeff Bezos money), his own payday wasn’t quite as legendary.
Why? Because the cast didn’t get to pull a “Robert Downey Jr.” and renegotiate after every movie. Instead, they signed on for the whole trilogy in one go. Meaning? No “surprise” million-dollar raises between films. No “I carried this franchise, pay me like Frodo deserves” moment. Just one solid contract and a lot of orc-fighting.
Director Peter Jackson apparently went all in on filming all three movies at once, which Wood called a “real gamble.” And just like a bad game of poker, that meant no mid-trilogy pay bumps for our hairy-footed heroes.
To put things in perspective, Sean Astin (a.k.a. the real MVP Samwise Gamgee) revealed he made about $250,000, while Orlando Bloom (Legolas, a.k.a. the Elf who never missed) walked away with just $175,000 for all three movies. If you just spat out your coffee, same.
When asked if his paycheck matched Astin’s, Wood kept it mysterious, saying the number wasn’t accurate but also “doesn’t matter.” (Translation: I’m not about to fight Sauron again, but trust me, I wasn’t rolling in gold like a Hobbit who just robbed a dragon).
But in true Frodo fashion, Wood ended on a wholesome note, saying, “It’s such an honor to have been a part of those films, and they represent some of the best experiences of my life.”
TL;DR: Frodo didn’t get rich, but at least he has lifelong memories and one heck of a cool story to tell at parties.
