Real-life Harry Potter laments name

PORTSMOUTH, England, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- A Briton named Harry Potter said the fictional wizard who shares his name has made his life seem as if it were under the influence of a "bad spell."

Potter, 20, of Portsmouth, England, who bears a similar forehead scar to his fictional namesake due to running into a lamp post at age 15, said the series of books by J.K. Rowling and the films based on the novels have made his life more difficult, The Sun reported Wednesday.

"My life has changed completely since the books were written, at first I thought it might be quite a good thing to have the same name," he said. "But now it is like someone has cast a bad spell on me, the reactions I get from people range from making fun to plain aggressive.

"No one ever believes that I'm telling the truth about my name. I had to show my girlfriend my passport, my bank card, and my driving license to convince her that I wasn't lying. I wasn't even able to get a Facebook account in my name as apparently the rights are owned by the Potter brand."