Prison time to being drunk on set to explicit text rants – the dark side of being a Harry Potter child star
EXCITEMENT over the new Harry Potter TV series hit fever pitch this week, when the brand new fresh faced cast were revealed.
The image mirrored that of the young actors who were unveiled in 2001 - but since the films came to an end in 2010, a dark side to being one of the child stars of the famous franchise has come to light.
Screen newcomer Dominic McLaughlin will take on the pivotal role of Harry Potter in the brand new TV shpw.
Fellow newcomers Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout will be playing Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, respectively.
Showrunner Franscesca Gardiner and lead director Mark Mylod said: “After an extraordinary search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, we are delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione, and Ron.
"The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen.
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The noughties movies saw a then unknown Daniel Radcliffe bag the role of Harry Potter.
He was joined by fellow co-leads Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Ron and Hermione, who were also new to showbusiness.
Here we take at some of the scandals that have plagued the original young cast of Harry Potter over the years.
DRUNK ON SET
Golden boy Daniel Radcliffe took on the huge starring role of Harry Potter when he was just ten.
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However, he previously revealed how he had been drunk on set - although he didn't disclose how old he was at the time, as he was 20 when filming ended.
Daniel once revealed that while he never drank on set, his habit was bad enough to affect filming Harry Potter.
“I can honestly say I never drank at work on Harry Potter,” he told in 2012.
”I went into work still drunk, but I never drank at work.
"I can point to many scenes where I’m just gone. Dead behind the eyes.”
Daniel, who has been sober since 2010, said that he attempted to stop drinking multiple times, and eventually sought help from friends.
“Ultimately, it was my own decision,” he said. “Like I woke up one morning after a night going like, ‘This is probably not good.’”
PRISON TIME
Harry Potter star Jamie Waylett's life hit rock bottom when he found himself in prison for two years.
After finding fame as Hogwarts bully Vincent Crabbe in the early films, his life took a dark turn.
The former actor was jailed for his part in the London riots in August 2011.
Jamie was found guilty of violent disorder and handling stolen goods at London's Wood Green Crown Court.
Just 22-years-old at the time, he admitted swigging from a stolen bottle of Champagne that had looted as the riots were taking place.
But Jamie was cleared of intending to destroy or damage property with a petrol canister he was pictured holding.
Jamie's lawyer said at the time that her client had become a "withered actor by the age of 22".
She went on: "Although he had the good fortune to be in the Harry Potter films, it turned out to be not so good fortune."
Jamie was released from prison in 2014.
THREATS TO QUIT
Despite becoming a millionaire many times over for her role in Harry Potter and having an army of fans around the world, Emma Watson once revealed how she nearly didn't return to the franchise.
The Hermione Granger actress revealed that when she was 16, she considered walking away because of the "horrible" filming schedule.
In 2006, her contract with Warner Brothers came up for renewal while she was shooting the fifth film, The Order Of The Phoenix.
Emma revealed how she "agonised" over signing it as it was for another five years, but eventually went ahead with it.
LOW PAY FOR CHILD EXTRAS
While lead actors Daniel, Emma and Rupert were raking in the big bucks, little could be said for the other child stars who appeared in the films.
The famous movies required hundreds of kids as extras to play pupils at Hogwarts.
However, one of these actors has spilled the beans on just how low their pay was.
Samantha Clinch appeared in the third and fourth movie, and recently took to TikTok to reveal how much she earnt.
Addressing her followers, she said that they would do 12-hour filming days as an extra, starting in early in the morning.
“We would be called for breakfast to be in the holding area outside the set for 5am in the morning and then be leaving at rush hour, on the bus in heavy, heavy traffic," she recalled.
The actress then dropped a huge bombshell about how much she was paid for these gruelling hours.
“Are you ready for how much we got paid?" she teased, before revealing they got £35 a day.
“That's £2.91 an hour," Samantha added.
EXPLICIT TEXT RANT
Back in 2018, The Sun exclusively revealed how Joshua Herdman blasted a Harry Potter super-fan as a “loser” and a “c***” in a nasty Instagram rant.
The actor turned MMA fighter, who played Draco Malfoy’s sidekick Goyle in the films, left the fan so upset he binned his beloved Boy Wizard boxset and vowed never to watch them again.
It all kicked off after the fan - who went by Chris - asked Josh if he "used marijuana", in an Instagram chat, and the actor took offence.
In the massages, that were seen by The Sun, the actor replied to the fan: “Lol, big man!
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“I’d love you to say that to my face. Absolute r****d mate, have [you] looked in the mirror recently?”
The actor was contacted for his side of the story at the time the story was published.
How to spot a rare Harry Potter book
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.