'I had bills to pay': Kiwi-born Harry Potter star forced to work in pub

Chris Rankin starred in five movies in the hugely popular Harry Potter franchise. Photo / Supplied.

Kiwi-born Harry Potter star Chris Rankin was forced to get a job in a pub after the franchise wrapped.

The 36-year-old actor starred in five movies in the hugely popular franchise as Ron Weasley's older brother Percy Weasley, but has said working on one of the biggest movie franchises ever didn't set him up for life, as he was forced to get a job working in UK pub chain Wetherspoons when the films wrapped.

Rankin, who was born in Auckland, worked at a Wetherspoons in Monmouth, South Wales, for almost half a year when he couldn't find any more acting roles after the Harry Potter movies.

Chris Rankin arrives at the Hollywood premiere of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Photo / Getty Images.

He explained: "People know actors don't get paid a lot of money, there's not a lot of work and there's a lot of unemployed actors.

"But there's a misconception that if you have a job in a high profile thing that it pays really well and you're made with your mansion.

"I bang on about it all the time but I worked in Wetherspoons in Monmouth for four or five months when I didn't have any other work, I needed a job and I had bills to pay."

And beyond needing to pay his bills, Chris also needed something to "keep [him] sane" whilst he looked for other work.

He added to the Daily Mail newspaper: "As much as it's about the need to work because you need the bills to be paid, there's also something about needing to work regardless of what that is.

"You need something to do, you need to keep sane."

The star - who bagged the role of Percy after applying through BBC Newsround - is still connected to the Harry Potter world, and regularly jets to America for conventions, where he meets with fans.

Chris also acts in pantomimes in the UK throughout the festive period, and has also worked on series such as Atlantis, Downton Abbey, and A Discovery of Witches as a production coordinator.