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| Daniel Radcliffe |
London, Nov. 21: 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, actor Keira Knightley, 20, and Wayne Rooney, 20, the footballer.
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 US clothing giant, Gap, taking over from the older Sarah Jessica Parker, of Sex and the City fame.
Knightley, worth over ?7 million, became famous in the film Bend it like Beckham.
But, as any parent will say, 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 to be sent off, and has struggled to control his vitriolic temper.
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 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.”