Harry Potter background actor reveals the alarming details of the franchise’s filming conditions and low pay, questioning whether it’s even legal.
Summary
- Former Harry Potter extra reveals harsh working conditions faced by child actors, including 12-hour days and low pay of $42 per day.
- The low pay rate of $3.52 per hour for child actors raises concerns about the United States and UK minimum wage laws for minors.
- Harry Potter‘s reputation has suffered due to J.K. Rowling’s controversial statements about transgender people, causing potential boycotts of the upcoming HBO show adaptation.
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A Harry Potter extra unveils shocking details of filming the renowned movies. Beginning with the adaptation of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 2001, the Harry Potter franchise remains one of the most successful to date. The adapted franchise even spawned a prequel spinoff with the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movies, which told the story of one of Harry’s wizard predecessors.
A former Harry Potter extra reveals the harsh working conditions she and other child background actors underwent. According to Samantha Clinch on TikTok, she and other child actors were expected to work 12-hour days that began at 5:30 a.m. Watch her video below:
Whereas lead actor Daniel Radcliffe got paid $11 million for his work in Goblet of Fire, Clinch claims that she received a rate of £35 per day or the equivalent of $42 per day. The former child actor proceeds to question whether this was even legal. Clinch was later recast as Eloise Midgen, where she saw a doubling of her daily rates.
Harry Potter’s Legacy Has Been Marred In Recent Years
While background actors never expect compensation close to that of the leads, there are jarring revelations about these Harry Potter salaries. As Clinch explains, the daily rates equate to just $3.52 per hour, well under the United States minimum wage and the UK minimum wages in the early 2000s. Furthermore, a 12-hour day is a huge expectation for child actors. These revelations concerning the working conditions overlap with the recent strikes in Hollywood as the WGA and SAG-AFTRA protested for better working conditions, increased pay, and residuals. The WGA has since ended their strike while the SAG-AFTRA are resuming negotiation talks with the studios.
The treatment of background actors is just one piece of the puzzle in the marring of Harry Potter’s reputation over recent years. Several years ago, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling came out with bigoted statements regarding transgender people that became controversial, ruining the image of the beloved childhood series. Rowling has only worsened issues, as she has doubled down on her statements and continuously spewed hateful rhetoric surrounding transgender people.
Related: Harry Potter 20th Anniversary – Why J.K. Rowling Didn’t Return To Hogwarts
Between Rowling’s personal shortcomings and Harry Potter’s production intensity, the franchise’s reputation has been disheveled. There have even been subtle boycotts of the upcoming HBO show adaptation of Harry Potter due to Rowling’s executive producer tie. Whether the Harry Potter show can overcome Rowling’s controversy or not remains to be seen, but hopefully the series will produce better working conditions than the original movies.
Source: Samantha Clinch/TikTok
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