A woman who appeared as an extra in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire admitted she was barely paid for the role.
For most children – and quite a few adults – being an extra in a magical Harry Potter epic would be a dream come true.
But Samantha Clinch, a former child actress from London, revealed that the extras worked long hours and were paid just £35 a day, in stark contrast to Daniel Radcliffe, who was paid $11 million to play the protagonist in the top-grossing international film of 2005 .
In her viral TikTok video, which now has over 3.5 million views, Ms. Clinch detailed life on set.
Samantha Clinch (pictured) revealed that extras in the Harry Potter film had to work 12 hour days and battle rush hour traffic to get paid £35 a day
Explaining her day as a child actress, Ms. Clinch explained that everyone was expected to be ready for breakfast at 5:30 a.m. in a waiting area on the outside of the set.
She added that they often had to fight their way home through “heavy, heavy traffic” during rush hour.
She said in the clip, which now has over 369,000 likes: “Are you ready for what we paid?” £35 a day. £35. That’s £2.91 per hour. Is that legal? This is chaos.’
While her salary may not have been as magical as she’d hoped, the presenter teased that there was “a big cash boost” when she became the character Eloise Midgeon.
The TikToker sarcastically joked, “So when I took on the role of Eloise Midgeon, I honestly barely knew what day I was going to choose, how the day would change for me and my bank account.”
She added: “I was getting £70 a day. ‘They doubled it, they just doubled it.’
However, the former child actress explained that despite the low salary, playing the lead role in the hit film wasn’t all that bad.
But the former child star revealed her salary increased to £70 a day when she landed the role of Eloise Midgeon
She told her 14,900-follower TikTok fanbase that although she was only paid £2.91 an hour, the constant supply of food more than made up for it.
Ms Clinch said cheerfully: “It’s like an all-inclusive deal.” “Seriously, the amount of square bars and ice cream rolls we got – at least £15 a day.”
She even explained that an entirely separate video was needed to detail the “elite” catering.
The presenter even revealed that she spent her Harry Potter earnings on the older version of Jean Paul Gaultier Classique Eau de Parfum.
She ended the video describing the perfume: “Incredible nostalgia in a bottle, of course.” Takes me back.
“This is a call to all Harry Potter extras.” Send me a message. Let’s get in touch. We need a meeting.’
Some commenters were surprised she was paid anything at all, with one fan writing: “I would pay to be an extra there.”
Another chimed in: “I would honestly pay them to let me be an extra for Harry Potter.”
One person explained: “As a child, £35 a day was living your dream!”
While she said the “elite catering” on set was worth it, the child star revealed she spent her salary on designer perfume. TikTok users flooded Samantha Clinch’s comments section and expressed great envy. Some even commented that being an extra in the film series was worth it
While another commented: “Lol I thought extras were volunteers.” I would be an extra on a movie set for free. I just want to be on a film set.’
Others expected their raise to be a little bigger, as one user quipped: “Why did I think your raise would be in the thousands?”
Some further gushed about how lucky the former child actress was, saying: “The fact that you starred alongside Oliver and James Phelps makes me SO jealous.”
“They’re my favorite people in the whole world, you’re so lucky!”
While another joked: “I was an extra.” I played the invisible person you never saw. They also paid me invisible money.’