Zoe Wanamaker slams Potter payments

Zoe Wanamaker has hit out at the makers of the Harry Potter film, accusing them of underpaying their actors.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Wanamaker, who plays games mistress Madam Hooch, described the film's producers Warner Bros as "notoriously mean" and described the pay as "terrible." "If they want me for a second [film], they'll have to up their rates. I don't think any of the actors have done well out of it," she continued.

Although the 52-year-old actress declined to elaborate on her salary, she said that it was less than her earnings from Gormenghast, BBC2's adaptation of Mervyn Peake's gothic trilogy.

She also revealed that all of the actors have been "cyber-scanned" so their roles can be replicated on computer games, although British actors will not receive any payment or residuals from their sale. "It's bad form. Even the costume designer who came up with these amazing creations will get no residuals. It's shocking and disgraceful," the actress raged.

Wanamaker's outburst comes amid reports that Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry, was only offered ?75,000 for the first film and ?125,000 for the second until the actors' union Equity stepped in and negotiated new terms which should make the 12-year-old a millionaire.

There are also reports that Warner Bros have silenced fellow cast member Richard Harris, refusing any interviews with the outspoken actor. A journalist at the Harry Potter press conference was allegedly hauled away from the seventy-one-year-old who plays Professor Dumbledore by agitated Warner Bros staff, although the veteran star had apparently been happy to speak.