When JK Rowling sold the film rights to her hit Harry Potter books, she was determined not to allow Hollywood to Americanise her Wizarding World.
Stars from across the pond, like Robin Williams, lobbied hard for roles like Hagrid and Lupin, but the author was determined to keep Hogwarts purely British.
Her personal choices included Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman, but one British actor didn’t get on well with the franchise.
Zoë Wanamaker was cast as Quidditch instructor Madam Hooch in first year movie Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which released in cinemas 23 years ago this month.
But over the years, fans have noticed that the My Family star never reprised her role in the other seven movies, and there’s a specific reason why.
According to The Telegraph, the 75-year-old was appalled by the pay she was offered, describing it as “terrible”. She told the outlet in 2001: “Some actors signed three-film deals, but the money was so poor I was insulted so I just signed for one. “If they want me for a second, they’ll have to up their rates.”
Wanamaker also lamented how they didn’t receive royalties from the merchandise featuring their likeness. This included being “cyber-scanned” for the tie-in Harry Potter video game. However, in 2018, she did reprise Madama Hooch in the iOS RPG Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, along with many other actors from the films.
But she’s not the only Harry Potter actor who was frustrated with their salary from the films.
Back in 2022, Professor Sprout star Miriam Margolyes told Metro: “I never made Harry Potter millions. I think the three or four main people did and they deserve it but my character didn’t. I was only in two and I only got £60,000 for being Professor Sprout but I’m not grumbling… now. I grumbled then but it made me very famous.”
Interestingly, Richard Harris, who played Dumbledore in the first two movies before his death, seemed to be satisfied with his salary. The late actor had said: “They kept offering me the role. And the more I turned them down, the more money they offered me.”
