Appearing for Just 31 Minutes in Harry Potter, Tom Felton Received a Mysterious Salary That Leaves Everyone in Disbelief
Tom Felton certainly made a name for himself in Harry Potter, and he made a fortune while doing so.
Tom Felton turns 36 today and it’s fair to say that he certainly has an impressive resume despite his young age.
But the Rise of the Planet of the Apes star undoubtedly made the biggest impression on audiences in his iconic role as Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter franchise.
Honestly, it would be hard to imagine anyone else.
But the most spectacular part of his performance is just how much of an impression he managed to make in little more than half an hour of screen time.
“Half an hour?!” I hear you cry.
And no, I’m not just talking about one film.
It’s true – despite pitting himself as Harry’s worst enemy, at least in the classroom, the character had only 31 minutes and 45 seconds of screentime throughout all eight movies.
That’s less than most Netflix shows nowadays – you could literally watch every single Malfoy scene in less time than it would take you to watch an episode of Stranger Things.
Admittedly, it wouldn’t make much sense, and Malfoy would age pretty dramatically throughout that 31 minutes and 45 seconds, but it could still be done.
You won’t be surprised to learn that Felton’s screentime throughout the Harry Potter series is much less than Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson or Rupert Grint, who had 539 minutes, 205 minutes and 211 minutes, respectively, but surprisingly it was even less than Hagrid, who managed to rack up a solid 45 minutes and 45 seconds.
That’s more than the Dark Lord himself, who had 37 minutes and 15 seconds, but Hagrid definitely deserved every second he got.
So, while Felton only featured in less than three percent of the overall series, he walked away with a hefty paycheque of £14 million. That’s £451,613 per minute.
Not a bad deal, if you ask me.
The actor was just 13-years-old when Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone began filming, and considering most kids that age are usually only familiar with the money in their piggy banks, it’s not that surprising that Felton apparently wasn’t the most sensible with his earnings.
According to the Express in 2010, Felton had previously told The Daily Mail that he’d spent much of his money on ‘typical teenage stuff’.
“I bought a lot of rubbish things that kids buy: skateboards and clothes and typical teenage stuff. And, as soon as I could, I wasted a lot of money on cars – BMWs mostly – for myself and my family,” he explained.
“My mum told me: ‘You have worked hard for it so get what you want, but beware, you will lose money on cars’. And she was right.”
Felton reportedly ended up getting in trouble with the taxman after splashing the cash, and at one point even had ‘the bailiff at the door’, but he later managed to get a grip on his finances thanks to the help of an accountant.
