Devon Murray

Irish actor Devon Murray was widely known for his portrayal of young wizard in training Seamus Finnigan in the hugely popular "Harry Potter" (2000-2011) series, though his personal life at times threatened to overshadow his professional career. Born in County Kildare in 1988, Murray enrolled at the Billie Barry school at age six. Within two weeks, he was appearing in a commercial for Tesco. In 1998, the then ten-year-old actor made his first film appearance in the drama "This is My Father" (1998), and the following year found him playing the role of Middle Malachy in the acclaimed drama "Angela's Ashes" (1999). His breakthrough role as Seamus followed in 2000, and would remain almost his sole pursuit as an actor for the next decade, as the series produced produced eight films over the next eleven years. During that time, Murray amassed a somewhat dubious reputation, appearing in the media smoking, drinking, and living what appeared to be a "playboy" lifestyle during his teen years. Murray subsequently ran into legal trouble in 2016 when his former agent Neil Brooks sued him, claiming that he was owed £230,000 in fees that Murray and his family had failed to pay due to Murray spending all of his nearly million-pound income from the "Harry Potter" series-including the percentage he agreed to pay Brooks as his agent. Murray's family countersued, claiming that Brooks had neglected his duties by failing to shield Murray from bad publicity when the young actor's scandalous behavior was reported in the media-though they did not deny that Murray had spent nearly all of his earnings from the franchise on horses, cars, and property, among other pursuits. The judge ultimately ruled in Brooks' favor, ordering the Murrays to pay a slightly reduced sum of £210,000.