The British actor is estimated to have amassed millions from his incredibly successful roles: Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter series, which grossed over $7 billion worldwide; Colonel William Tavington in the $200 million box office hit The Patriot; the infamous Captain Hook in the 2003 Peter Pan; and more recently, Timothy Ratliff in HBO’s massively popular TV show The White Lotus.
After his many successes, 62-year-old Issacs should be sitting on a fortune most actors would gawk at. But his bank account may not be as full as the other money-conscious celebrities who have accumulated a Hollywood nest egg.
That’s because as well as enjoying spending money, Isaacs is fine with making less simply to be a part of good projects, having insisted on getting paid the same as other novice White Lotus actors while filming season three. They all got paid a flat rate of $40,000 per episode for the latest round of filming—or, around $320,000 in total.
“Do I mind that I wasn’t paid more than other people? I never work for money,” Issacs said. “I mean, I’ve done all right.”
“There’s a number of things I could have done over the years that would’ve made me rich,” Isaacs added. “And now that I’m toward the autumn of my career, I think maybe I’m an idiot and I should have done some of those things and just banked it, because other people do.”
While the Harry Potter star might have blown through a good chunk of his wealth, many other celebrities are penny-pinching during their career highs. Actress Keke Palmer was a millionaire at just the age of 12, but she’s always stuck by a frugal lifestyle that her parents instilled in her.
There’s a lot of stigma behind CEOs and celebrities getting paid millions, while the average worker survives on minimum wage. So it’s less common to see these high-net-worth individuals be so open about spending their wealth, but Isaacs isn’t shy about being honest or recognizing the scrutiny.
“Generally actors don’t talk about pay in public because it’s ridiculously disproportionate to what we do—putting on makeup and funny voices—and just upsets the public,” he said.
And whether they spend it or save it, Issacs considers himself lucky to be paid (generously so) for a job he loves.
“But compared to what people normally get paid for big television shows, that’s a very low price. But the fact is, we would have paid to be in it. We probably would have given a body part.”
