Jessie Cave

After filming wrapped I tried everything: stand-up comedy, drawing silly comics, publishing my own book, even hosting a podcast.

But the film industry is a very unpredictable beast.

Now I want to talk about something I've kept quiet for a long time: in just one year I earned more than in my entire acting career on Harry Potter.

There's no point keeping it secret any longer.

Most people genuinely believe that if you appeared in a worldwide blockbuster, you must be set for life with millions in the bank.

How I wish that were true!

Last year, after a long string of casting rejections, I hit absolute rock bottom.

Bills were piling up, acting fees had dried up long ago, and nobody was offering me roles.

I was sitting at my kitchen table in a panic, trying to figure out where on earth I'd find £5,000 out of thin air to clear urgent debts and avoid losing my home.

I started selling things.

First the designer handbag I'd bought to celebrate landing a role years ago.
Then a vintage camera I'd had since drama school.
Then jewellery — pieces I'd kept because they meant something, not because they were worth much.

My agent went completely silent.
Voice notes, DMs, voicemails — all of it ignored.
At some point you stop sending and just accept it.

I remember sitting on the floor of my bedroom at 2am scrolling through photos from the Harry Potter set, thinking — how did I end up here?

The girl who played Lavender Brown, selling her belongings to make rent.

It's a strange kind of quiet desperation.
Not dramatic. Just heavy.

—

Then, out of nowhere, a small voiceover job came in.

One day's work. The kind of thing that almost never happens when you actually need it.

I went in, did my lines, and was getting ready to leave when I ended up chatting with two other actors who'd been brought in for the same session.

Names you'd recognise.
Careers that look perfectly fine from the outside.

We got talking. And somehow the conversation turned to money.

One of them mentioned a win. I caught the word “withdrew” and stopped.

“Sorry — did you just say you won something?”

She smiled.

“Gates of Olympus. Been playing for a few weeks. Just pulled out eight hundred last night.”

The other one nodded.

“I had a good run last month too. It's not guaranteed or anything, but the payouts are real. Straight into your account.”

I stood there for a second.

“Could you send me the link?”

“Yeah, of course.”

—

I downloaded the app that evening. Made a small deposit.

And opened Gates of Olympus for the first time.

The first few spins — nothing.
The balance crept up slightly, dropped back down.
I thought: right, obviously. What did I expect.

I decided not to wait.
I bought the bonus round directly — spent a chunk of the balance to trigger it straight away.

Four scatters landed at once. Free spins.

On the first spin — a multiplier dropped.
Then another.
Zeus struck with a purple lightning bolt across the reels and the symbols lit up.

Each spin added more.
The total multiplier didn't reset — it just kept stacking:

×4... ×12... ×35... ×82... ×210...

I stopped touching the screen. Just watched.

Zeus kept striking.
Every bolt, another multiplier.
Re-triggers kept hitting, giving more free spins.
I lost count of how many.

The balance climbed:

£20 → £340 → £1,200 → £6,800...

I sat completely still.
Not breathing properly.
Just watching the numbers.

It stopped at £18,000.

That was my first bonus round on Gates of Olympus.
It wasn't my last.

—

I pressed withdraw — half convinced something would go wrong, some error message would pop up, some catch I hadn't read in the small print.

The next morning I opened my banking app.

The full amount was sitting right there.

Over the following months I withdrew to Wise, Revolut, Chase, even PayPal — whatever was easiest at the time.

Every single transfer came through.
No delays, no excuses, no disappeared funds.

—

Over one year of using this app I earned more than in my ENTIRE acting career put together.

I've kept this to myself until now — nobody knew I was playing, so there was nothing to explain and no image to protect.

But I think it's time to just say it openly.

I've finally paid off all my debts and for the first time in years I can live without constantly dreading what tomorrow might bring.

Sometimes real magic doesn't happen at Hogwarts — it happens right there on your smartphone.

—

Two things before I go: first — I'm doing fine now, so no need to worry.

Second — I don't reply to DMs about the app, so I'll just leave the link in the comments for anyone who wants to take a look or give it a try.👇