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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
World
Sam Ormiston

The Harry Potter star who blew his cash on cars and girls and was sued by his agent

The Harry Potter franchise recently reached a huge milestone - with the films marking 20 years from their first big screen outing.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone has been re-released in screens in Edinburgh (the birthplace of Potter) and across the UK to mark the occasion.

Some of the film's most famous famous including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, who made millions in films and deals following the success.

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But one star whose name you might not immediately recognise is Devon Murray, who played Seamus Finnigan - the Irish Gryffindor renowned for failing to produce spells correctly and blowing things up by accident.

Known for being a bit of a joker and a caring spirit throughout the series, it might come as a surprise to people that he was once embroiled in a High Court battle, reports MyLondon.

Back in 2016, Murray's agent sued him for £210,000 - a fair slice of the near £1m that he is reported to have earned through his roles in all eight films.

Neil Brooks successfully filed the lawsuit against the Murray family for an alleged non-payment of commission fees, with the Irish actor being represented by his parents Michael and Fidelma due to his age.

Giving his ruling during the row, Justice Michael Moriarty expressed his 'regret' as it was revealed how Murray spent roughly £1m on 'cars, drink and girls' when he was a teenager, The Daily Mail reported at the time.

Mr Murray told the media after losing the court battle: "What’s done is done now. There’s nothing we can do. We’re all gutted now. There’s not a whole lot we can do. We have to get by whatever way we can now."

Asked about how he spent his cash, the young actor said in an interview: "There was an awful lot of things I put money into. I bought a lot of horses at the time… I bought property and the arse fell out of that. It wasn’t all just women, cars and drink. It wasn’t all that."

The Murray family even tried to counter sue the Dublin-based Neil Brooks Management for a sum of £79,000, which they said they paid to him. Their case was thrown out.

Murray was just 12 years old when he beat stiff competition to play the part of Seamus Finnigan in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

But it seems like, despite living frivolously in the past, that Murray has very much calmed down.

He regularly posts updates to his 203,000 Instagram followers of his baby son Cooper, who fans gush over - as well as his horses.

So, maybe the 'Irish guy who kept blowing up' is no longer as wild now as he was in his teens.

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