THE actor who played one of the most beloved characters in the multi-billion pound Harry Potter movies is still living a humble life in a housing association flat in Chelmsford.
Diane Gibbins, of Trenchard Lodge, played house elf Dobby in the final two Harry Potter films.
Despite the seven movies grossing more than £10 billion worldwide, Diane was paid just £360 a day, and says many people don't believe she even starred alongside Daniel Radcliffe.
"A lot of the time people don't believe me," said the 47-year-old, who has also played a baby wearing a suit in an Andrex advert.
But Diane says the experience was still enjoyable and had a great time with her co-stars.
"It was great fun, I enjoyed it and there was great camaraderie amongst the other actors," said Diane, who has spent her Harry Potter earnings on adapting her flat for her needs.
One of Diane's prized possessions is a picture of her with Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley, and Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy.
She also met Jason Isaacs, who plays Lucius Malfoy, Ralph Fiennes, who played the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort, and Helena Bonham Carter, Bellatrix Lestrange, who the panto actor described as a "lovely lady".
"They are lovely guys, really down to earth and friendly, they always have time for you," said Diane, who suffers from a genetic condition called pseudoachondroplasia that causes short limbs.
"We had a great laugh, 60 of us small people used to go down the local pub and the regulars couldn't believe it, they kept saying 'how many of you are there'?"
Although she regrets not getting the chance to meet Michael Gambon and Bill Nighy, who also starred in the series, there was one fellow star she did not get along with.
Diane said: "When I first started, Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger, was really nice.
"But after about a week she wouldn't say 'hi' and just ignored us – that's not right, just because she's the leading lady doesn't give her the right to be rude to people."
As Diane's 3ft and a quarter inch stature helped her portray popular elf Dobby, she was also used as one of 60 small actors to play goblins in the final showdown between Voldemort and Harry Potter, when house elves battled against the evil wizard.
Diane, who uses a Shopmobility scooter to get around Chelmsford on shopping trips due to he her condition, had to wear masks and needed to shave her head to get some of the Dobby prosthetics on without pulling her hair out.
When scenes were shot with a green screen Diane had to wear a bald cap.
The finished character was completely computer-generated and voiced by British actor Toby Jones.
In one of the franchise's most famous scenes, when Dobby dies in the Deathly Hallows Part 1, which was shot on a beach in Wales, Diane actually fell into Daniel Radcliffe's arms and had to pretend to be dead.
"Lying there with my eyes closed, pretending not to breathe was really hard, especially with all the prosthetics on and it was really cold as well," Diane added.
She also wore heavy prosthetics to portray one of the goblin bankers from Gringotts Wizarding Bank, alongside the Head Goblin, played by Warwick Davis.
The Life's Too Short actor is also Diane's agent as she is part of his Willow Management company for specifically short, and in some cases very tall, performers.
Apart from two Harry Potter films, she has also performed in pantomimes in London, Bristol, Wales and Essex.
"I hope to do more panto, but there aren't enough parts for women," said Diane. "It's discriminatory really, often men play women in pantos, but women aren't allowed to play men."
It took just over a year to shoot both Deathly Hallows films, part 1 was released in 2010 and part 2 in 2011, with Diane getting called to the set at different points during shooting.
Warner Bros. sent chauffer-driven cars to pick her up from Chelmsford and drive her to the studio in Watford.
But Diane did not have an easy childhood, after being found abandoned in Fulham high street at the age of two, with older sister Sharon, who lives in the same block of flats.
Diane and her seven siblings were in and out of foster care, and she moved to Chelmsford in 1993 having previously lived in Southend, Hastings, Teddington and the Isle of Wight.
Three of Diane's sisters and a brother do not have the defective gene, but her two other sisters and one brother are also under 4ft tall.
