Daniel Radcliffe Made Millions From Harry Potter, But He Didn't Technically Earn The Biggest Paycheck
Daniel Radcliffe Played Harry Potter For 10 Years, But Did Another Actor Outearn Him? (Photo Credit: Prime Video)

Daniel Radcliffe may have been the face of the whole Harry Potter franchise, but being the star didn’t necessarily mean getting the best deal. While Radcliffe carried the franchise across eight movies, one of his co-stars earned significantly more per minute on screen.

Of course, Radcliffe walked away with a much bigger paycheck overall as the Boy Who Lived; one co-star managed to earn even more than he did for much shorter screen time.

That actor was none other than Tom Felton, who played Harry’s long-time rival, Draco Malfoy. Despite appearing only a fraction of Radcliffe’s screen time, Felton reportedly earned considerably more per minute.

How Tom Felton Earned More Than Daniel Radcliffe In Harry Potter

Across all eight movies of the Harry Potter franchise, Tom Felton only appeared for just 31 minutes on Marie Claire. That’s even less than 3% of the whole franchise. Now compare that screen time with Daniel Radcliffe’s, who appeared for approximately 539 minutes throughout the franchise. Even Hagrid managed to appear longer than Draco, with 45 minutes of screen time.

However, Felton’s limited appearances certainly didn’t stop him from making a fortune. The actor reportedly earned approximately $18.5 million from the Harry Potter franchise, according to The Economic Times. That works out to an incredible $597,000 per minute of screen time.

Meanwhile, according to CBS, Radcliffe made $95.6 million across all eight Harry Potter movies; that is, only $177,365 per minute. So, Tom Felton earned 3.36 times more than Daniel Radcliffe for every minute that he spent onscreen.

Tom Felton Ultimately Lost All His Harry Potter Fortune

Making millions at such a young age with such limited screen time sounds like a dream come true for any kid out there. But earning a fortune and keeping the fortune safe are two very different things. The actor was just 13 years old when he began filming in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Like most teenagers, he had plenty of things he wanted to buy. The only difference was that Felton could afford them. According to a 2010 Daily Mail interview, Felton spent a considerable portion of his early earnings on typical teenage purchases.

Even though his mother warned him, he never listened. Thankfully, the actor eventually managed to bring his habits under control with the help of an accountant.

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