Sean Astin had to sell his house because his Lord of the Rings pay was so low

Sean Astin had to "sell [his] house" because his Lord of the Rings pay was so low.

The 55-year-old actor played Samwise Gamgee in the hit fantasy trilogy but despite the global success of the movies, he admitted he didn't negotiate a fee that reflected the exposure they brought.

He told The Guardian newspaper: “I was not prepared for that level of visibility and access.

"And there was a disconnect between the attention that I was getting and how much money we had. It was not a lot of money! In fact, I had to sell my house because I negotiated such a small amount on the trilogy.”

However, he stressed he is “very comfortable financially now".

Andy Serkis is currently shooting The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum with Sean's former co-stars Sir Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood, and director Sir Peter Jackson recently announced another film in the franchise, co-written by Stephen Colbert.

Sean would be keen to return to play Samwise again - if the pay was right.

He said: “I don’t think anybody is opposed to it. We’d all love to connect to those characters, particularly if it’s done with such sensitivity as we heard.”

Asked if he'd be paid better this time round, he replied: “Goddam right.”