Sean Astin forced to sell house after Lord of the Rings pay

Sean Astin revealed he earned only $75,000 per movie from 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, totaling about $250,000.

Despite the trilogy grossing $2.9 billion worldwide, Astin said the low pay forced him to sell his house.

Elijah Wood confirmed the cast did not receive massive salaries because the production filmed all three movies at once as a financial gamble.

Astin later became financially comfortable and national president of SAG-AFTRA, and is open to reprising his role as Samwise Gamgee.