Harry Potter star joins the magic circle of super-rich teens
By Marco Giannangeli (Filed: 21/11/2005)
On screen Harry Potter usually has far more things to worry about than money. For very different reasons Daniel Radcliffe, the child actor who plays the young wizard, also seems unlikely to be kept awake at night by money problems.
Such has been his success in the film adaptations of the J K Rowling books, the 16-year-old actor is reported to have been offered £8 million to be in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the next instalment in the long-running duel between Harry and Lord Voldemort.
A pay cheque of that scale would make Daniel one of the richest teenagers in Britain, occupying the sort of teenage superstardom once dominated by Macaulay Culkin, the American child star who earned £25 million through his Home Alone films.
Daniel appears to be part of a trend - the seriously wealthy self-made teenager.
He will be joining the likes of Charlotte Church, the 19-year-old singer, soul star Joss Stone, 17, the actress Keira Knightley, 20, and Wayne Rooney, 20, the footballer.
All feature in the Sunday Times Rich List and all broke the million-pound mark while in their teens. Also in the club, although with considerably lower profiles, are millionaires Chris Phillips, 17, an internet business owner, and web designer Carl Churchill, 19.
Joss Stone's £5 million fortune was said to have swollen considerably when she became the face of the American clothing giant, Gap, taking over from the older Sarah Jessica Parker, of Sex and the City fame.
Knightley, worth more than £7 million, became famous in the British film Bend it like Beckham and is now filming the sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean.
But, as any parent will tell you, adolescence has its downsides.
Church, the angelic-voiced Welsh soprano, thought to be worth between £6 million and £15 million, courted controversy with a blatant raunchier image when she tried her hand at mainstream pop.
And Rooney, who is paid £50,000 a week by Manchester United, may have been established as a top class player by the age of 16 but he also became the youngest player to be sent off, and has struggled to control his vitriolic temper for his club and country.
To the relief of Harry Potter fans, Daniel has seemed untainted by success.
"If childhood is being surrounded by people who you love being around and being incredibly happy, then I absolutely have that," he said recently.
And with his parents, Alan and Marcia, looking after his business interests, Daniel says that he does not know what he is worth.
"To be honest, I don't actually know how much at this point," he said. "In a way, I think that's right. It's not something that affects the way I think about things."*** 'Harry Potter' star Daniel Radcliffe is mistakenly being mobbed by fans of Elijah Wood.
'Lord of the Rings' fans in Australia - where Radcliffe is filming his latest movie - have mistaken 16-year-old Daniel for Elijah, 24, - who plays Frodo in the hit fantasy trilogy. But far from being offended by the mistake, Daniel admits he is flattered.
He is quoted in Britain's The Sun newspaper as saying: "So often people shout out, 'Hey Frodo!' as they think I'm Elija - who frankly is a very good-looking guy so I take it as a compliment "I admit when a couple of people have put autograph books under my nose I've signed them, 'Much love Elijah Wood'
"It would be a bit deflating for me if I told the truth and they said, 'Don't bother signing it then'"
Meanwhile, Daniel has become Britain's richest teenager with a personal fortune of £23million.
The boy wizard is now worth more than millionaire teen stars Charlotte Church and Joss Stone after signing a contract worth £8million to appear in the fifth movie, 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'from the daily star : daniel says ...once i was going to the MTV studios in new york on a freezing day and there was a girl standing outside in nothing but a harry potter towel.
she was holding a sign that said ; "nothing comes between me and harry potter".
i was absolutely terrified...letter in the daily mail - november 9. as a harry potter fan i decided to go to the world premiere at leicester square to see the stars arrive. my mum who has arthritis decided to come along too.
i'd never been to an event such as this before and what i thought would be magical turned into a nightmare.
we got there at 10.30am and managed to get fairly near the front of the waiting crowd. the weather wasn't kind and we got drenched but we were prepared for that.
what we weren't prepared for was the ill manners of some people - the pushing shoving and threats.
we stuck it out until 3.20pm, three hours before the stars arrived.
we left very disappointed and wet and with my opinion of people at rock bottom.
there was none of the magic or camaraderie i'd expected.
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