Harry Potter's Professor Sprout reveals the small amount she was paid and how she feels about it

While actor Tom Felton received a hefty £14 million for his role in the Harry Potterseries, his co-star, Miriam Margolyes, received a meagre £60,000.

The 81-year-old actress did not let the disparity in pay deter her from giving her all in the beloved series. She played a professor in 2002's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and in 2011's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

Despite the fact that the astute actress admitted she wasn't impressed with the pay, she is grateful for the opportunity because it has boosted her career and she greatly benefited from the films. According to Metro, her character in the show didn’t hit the million threshold like the other characters.

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.

She’s not a fan of Harry Potter

The actress made a startling revelation that, though she starred in the movies, she’s not a fan of them. However, she enjoyed playing the teaching role and did it to the admiration of her fans. In a memoir published by Mail Online,Professor Sprout, the name of her character in the films, said,

Even now, I have to get photographs printed to sign and send out to my Harry Potter devotees but, if I'm honest, which I must be, I fell asleep during the premieres of both films.

And whenever I glimpse scenes on television, I'm never absolutely sure what's happening — even in the ones I'm actually in! For that reason, I can honestly say that I've never seen a single Harry Potter film and I've still never read the books.

When I was first interviewed for the part, I confessed I didn't know much about the series but if they wanted someone who could act as a teacher, there was no question that I could play the part.

Miriam’s acting adventures

Margolyes first worked in the world-renowned film industry, Hollywood, in 1980, when she was called to audition for a small part as Secretary of the Communist Party in Warren Beatty's Reds. She described how enjoyable it was to be on set and in the same hotel as Maggie Smith, Richard Harris, Alan Rickman, and Kenneth Branagh.

Margolyes ended up becoming a prominent actress in Hollywood, despite her lack of ambition due to the fierce competition. She never imagined herself making it in Hollywood until she was honored with a Los Angeles Critics Circle award for her role as Flora Finching in Christine Edzard's film Little Dorrit in 1988, when she was in her 40s. She recalled saying,

I had never thought of trying to make it in America. It was the glittering centre of the entertainment industry, way out of my reach.

To be fair, Margolyes' appearances in Chamber of Secrets and Deathly Hallows Part 2 amounted to about two minutes total, Her character was responsible for helping students terrified by the basilisk with her mandrake plants, according to Cinemablend. So making this much money in the blink of an eye, combined with fame she earned, may have been a good deal.

Sources used :

Mail Online: 'I grumbled then but it made me very famous': Miriam Margolyes reveals she was only paid £60,000 to play Professor Sprout in Harry Potter films

Mail Online: There's never been a British star quite like Miriam Margolyes. And there's NEVER been a memoir so packed with eye-popping, hilarious and shockingly candid stories about the A-list she's mingled with. So brace yourself for Miriam's outrageous memories...

Cinemablend: Harry Potter’s Professor Sprout Actress Reveals How Much Money She Made From The Wizarding World