New Harry Potter stars are reportedly earning a fortune – but Radcliffe made even more

According to anonymous insider sources cited by The Sun, the three lead actors in HBO’s Harry Potter series are reportedly set to receive a combined £500,000 for the first season. That would put their pay at around £60,000 per episode each. For young actors in a new series, that is a considerable sum. Compared with what Daniel Radcliffe earned for the first Harry Potter film, however, the amount still appears significantly lower.

A hefty payday for a debut season

Compared with the salaries of the Stranger Things cast, the rumored pay appears very high. As Deadline reports, Netflix paid the young lead actors around $30,000 per episode during the first two seasons. That would be equivalent to roughly £22,500 per episode today. The fact that the alleged Harry Potter salaries are well above that is likely due mainly to the franchise’s expected appeal.

Another comparison helps put the figure into perspective: according to Celebrity Net Worth, Young Sheldon actor Iain Armitage earned $30,000 per episode in season 1. Since those episodes typically ran for only around 20 minutes, that put him in a similar range. Here, too, the pay was likely tied to the project’s strong commercial potential, especially given that the series launched as a direct prequel to one of the most successful US sitcoms of its era.

Daniel Radcliffe earned even more

Even if the three young actors playing Harry, Ron and Hermione do indeed receive around £60,000 per episode, they would still be far below what Daniel Radcliffe earned for the first Harry Potter film. According to ScreenRant, Radcliffe was already paid $1 million for the first movie. He is even said to have earned $25 million for the final two films.

That said, the comparison is hardly an objective one. These are, after all, film and TV contracts from very different eras. There is also a difference in the role structure of the project: Daniel Radcliffe was the sole title star of the original film, whereas the series is built around a trio. Even so, the child actors would by no means be underpaid if the rumored figures are accurate – and if HBO’s Harry Potter series is a success in its first season, it is reasonable to assume that their pay will rise even further in the future.