Radcliffe mum on 18th birthday plans, paychecks

LONDON -- Media reports of "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe gaining access to huge amounts of cash when he turned 18 Monday were overblown, his publicist's office said.

"It's not a big deal today," said a woman who answered the phone at the office of Radcliffe's publicist. She refused to give her name, saying she wasn't an official spokeswoman.

She refused to elaborate, saying Radcliffe's finances -- and birthday party -- were a personal matter.

Radcliffe, who was 11 when he was first cast as the schoolboy wizard in the films based on J.K. Rowling's novels, is gaining access to a $19 million investment fund, People magazine reported in its July 23 issue.

British newspapers have estimated that he has a total net worth of $35 million, with two more movies in the "Potter" series yet to be filmed, the magazine said.

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the latest movie starring Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, is now in theaters.

Rowling's seventh and final book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," was published Saturday.