Mesmerising salaries of new Harry Potter tween stars revealed

The three child stars of TV’s Harry Potter remake will make a spellbinding £500,000 (AU $966,000) each for the first series, it has been revealed.

Twelve-year-old Dominic McLaughlin has been cast as Harry, the role that conjured global fame for Daniel Radcliffe a quarter of a century ago.

Arabella Stanton, 11, and Alastair Stout, 12, have been cast as Harry’s Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry pals Hermione ­Granger and Ron Weasley.

A TV insider* told media outlet The Sun: “This is a whopping payday for three kids who haven’t even hit their teenage years yet — and it’s just the beginning.

“They’re being paid £500,000 (AU $966,000) for the first series. If they keep this up, they’re on track to be multi-millionaires before they turn 18.”

The TV reboot’s trio will replace Radcliffe, now 36, Rupert Grint, 37, and Emma Watson, 35 as the new faces of JK Rowling’s tales.

The three young actors beat more than 32,000 children who auditioned for the seven-series Warner Bros production.

They were seen for the first time in a two-minute trailer last week, 25 years after the epic film franchise* became a global phenomenon.

It has been revealed that the three young stars have entered into contracts that will see them being paid upwards of £60,000 (AU $115,000) an episode for the eight-part first series.

The TV insider added: “It’s a lot of money for young kids to be handed overnight but they’re about to become three of the most famous children in the world.

“Similarly to when Daniel, Emma and Rupert were cast, their lives are going to change forever.”

The reboot of the Harry Potter series will see all seven of JK Rowling’s fantasy books adapted for TV over the course of a decade, with the author working as an executive producer*.

The first series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, has been scheduled to launch on Christmas Day on HBO Max.

Release of the short teaser clip has divided opinion among fans, with some arguing it looked “too similar” to its movie namesake*.

However, it does show Harry for the first time at a school for “muggles” — those without magic abilities — before ­making his famous trip to Hogwarts.

Scottish actor Dominic joined the cast when he was 11 — the same age as Radcliffe in the first Potter film.

Reacting to the new casting, ­Radcliffe said: “They just seem so young. I just look at them and say, ‘Oh, it’s crazy I was doing that at that age’.

“But it’s also incredibly sweet and I hope they’re having a great time.”

Radcliffe went on to perform in other major films such as The Woman in Black plus stage shows, and his ­fortune has topped £100 million (around AU $192 million).

Watson, said to be worth £64 million (AU $123 million), and Grint, estimated to have made £50 million (AU $95 million), have also gone on to have other major screen roles.

This story originally appeared on The Sun and is republished with permission

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GLOSSARY

• TV insider: someone who works in the TV industry, who may be involved in the TV production of Harry Potter
• franchise: a collection of related movies that share themes and characters and often make a lot of money in the sale of merchandise
• executive producer: someone who oversees the project and is an important leader in the business, legal and financing affairs of the production
• namesake: something with the same name

EXTRA READING
Harry Potter comes of age at 21
Wizard world undergoes doubling charm
Broomsticks for Muggles glide through the streets

QUICK QUIZ
1. What is the name of the actor playing Harry Potter in the new TV adaptation?
2. How old is Daniel Radcliffe now?
3. How much are the young TV actors being paid for the first series of Harry Potter?
4. Why did the teaser clip leave some fans divided?
5. How much is Radcliffe now estimated to be worth?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Child TV stars
These young children are set to make a lot of money at a very young age, almost $1 million at 11 and 12.

If you were successful at being cast in a major TV series like Harry Potter, what would you like to spend the money on?
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Your parents would need to help you manage this sort of money. What do you think they’d have you do with this big payday?
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Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Mathematics, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
How do you prepare these young children for the fame that is about to come to them to ensure they maintain some sense of a normal life?

Do you think there would be some disadvantages with being rich and famous at such a young age?

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.

Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.

Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?

Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.