His portrayal of Legolas in the much-loved franchise launched his acting career.
Orlando Bloom has revealed that he was paid just $175k for his portrayal of Legolas in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Two days after graduating from Guildhall School of Acting in 1999, Bloom was cast in his first major role as Legolas in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
He maintained the role in The Two Towers a year later, and again in 2003’s The Return of the King.
The fantasy films made the Kent native a household name around the world, and commenced a long and illustrious career in Hollywood.
Now, in an interview with Howard Stern on his SiriusXM radio show, Bloom has revealed how much he was paid for his time spent in middle-earth.
“I auditioned many times,” he told Stern. “Originally for the role of Faramir. Then I got a call back from Hubbards in London, big casting agents.
“Roz Hubbard said, ‘I think you could do anything’. I was like, ‘Yeah!’ It was a vote of confidence that was so inspiring.”
The 48-year-old father-of-two continued: “They brought me back for Legolas. I’d been on tape for the one role, and I taped again for Legolas,” adding that he shot the films for 18 months in New Zealand after getting the nod and “going back for reshoots here and there.”
When asked by Stern if he got paid as much as the other cast members considering he was a relatively unknown talent, Bloom answered: “I got nothing. 175 grand.
“Listen, the greatest gift of my life,” he added. “I’d do it again for half the money.”
Considering Bloom went on to star in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Troy and Kingdom of Heaven off the back of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the money earned from those box-office hits would have helped him forgot about that underwhelming paycheck very quickly.
