THE main child stars of the Harry Potter films are now famous around the globe and earned millions from the franchise.
But how much did the extras get paid?
According to Samantha Clinch, who started off as an extra and later was given the role of Hogwarts student Eloise Midgen, has opened up about her experience.
It turns out that the extras weren’t rolling in as many golden galleons as you’d think.
On her @samanthaclinch TikTok account, she shared: “Right, let's talk about how much we got paid as extras for the Harry Potter films and how much I got paid when I became Eloise Midgeon.
“There was a big jump, a big jump in cash.
“For context, in The Goblet of Fire, Daniel Radcliffe got paid $11 million—that's nine and a half million pounds.”
Samantha claimed she would do 12-hour filming days as an extra, which would start at 5am.
She continued: “We would be called for breakfast to be in the holding area outside the set for 5:00 am in the morning and then be leaving at rush hour, on the bus in heavy, heavy traffic.
“Are you ready for how much we got paid? £35 a day, £35.
“That's £2.91 an hour.”
Samantha later was given the role of Eloise Midgen, who was a Gryffindor student mentioned for having an unfortunate case of acne.
The child actress continued: “So, when I became the part of Eloise Midgen, honestly, little did I know that day, when I was going to set, how the day would change for me and my bank account.
“Before, like my friends, humble extras, we got £35 a day, £2.91 an hour.
“When I got this part, I then got paid £70 a day. They doubled it, they just doubled it.
“I mean, really though, in the grand scheme of things, getting paid £2.91 an hour isn’t that bad.
“And there is this constant stream of food—it's like an all-inclusive!
“Seriously, the amount of Squares bars and iced buns we got through, minimum £15 a day, minimum.”
But what did she spend her Harry Potter earnings on, you may ask.
Samantha revealed she bought a bottle of Classique perfume by Jean Paul Gaultier, and added: “Incredible, nostalgia in a bottle. It takes me back.”
The actress who starred in the 2005 film, alongside Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Emma Watson as Hermione Granger and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, also revealed what is was like filming the movies.
Sharing an insight on social media, the brunette beauty explained: “What it was really like going to school at Hogwarts - the food, the friends, the freezing temperatures.”
She said: “A question I get asked a lot is ‘is it fun?’
“I don’t know how to express, how much the time of my life, filming these films were.
“To set the scene - 13 years old right, I went to a part time drama school and we all got called up and you find out you’re going to be in this amazing film, and it’s all about witches and wizards.
“You turn up, you get your cloak, your house, you find out where you are, and then the next thing you know, you’re sat, with the Patil twins, next to Ginny, and we’re all just having breakfast in the Great Hall.
AS JK Rowling’s popularity has rocketed, so has the value of the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
If you think you might have one, then first look to see if Bloomsbury is listed as the publisher on the title page at the bottom.
The copy should be a first edition - which will be noted within the first few pages.
The latest date listed in the copyright information must by 1997.
It should be credited to "Joanne Rowling" and not "J.K Rowling" and carry a print line that reads " 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page.
There is a mistake on page 53 where “1 wand” appears twice in the list of school supplies Harry receives from Hogwarts, which was corrected in later print runs.
For the other titles in the Harry Potter series, it is only the first hardback editions with the dust jacket that have any collectable value.
“It was genuinely the most incredible time of my life.
“We did eat a lot of our meals, for real, on this table.
“There was always a big emphasis around stealing things. They were like ‘if you get caught with a fork on you, you will get fired’.
“I remember there was a boy who put a fork in his pocket. He never came back.”
Many social media users took to the comments to share their jealousy over Samantha’s role.
One person said: “This was my dream, child me is so jealous.”
Another added: “As a kid I'd have loved this, as an adult I find it so cute to imagine kids sitting around eating Squares in house robes.”
