Harry Potter’s Cho Chang, Katie Leung, says she ‘wouldn’t want to go back to that time’, here’s why
Playing Cho Chang in the mega-successful Harry Potter films was actor Katie Leung’s first brush with fame. The actor began appearing in the film series as the titular character’s love interest in the 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when she was 17. Now, after having worked in the film and TV industry for two decades, Katie says she wouldn’t want to return to those days. The actor says it is because, back then, she would easily get influenced by what people around her would say.
Katie Leung about working in Harry Potter
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, released in 2005, marked Katie’s acting debut. The 17-year-old played a 5th-year Hogwarts student, Cho Chang, whom Harry has a crush on. She later appeared in three more films in the series – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
“I was so young at the time, and I was so easily influenced by what people would say about me because I didn’t know who I was,” she told Entertainment Tonight in an interview.
The actor, whose latest work is Bridgerton, said she joined the Regency-era romance series with a healthy focus on her work. “So I’ve come into Bridgerton having a really healthy focus on the work. I’m so glad I’m here. I would not want to go back to that time (working on Harry Potter). Not because I had a bad time or anything, but it’s just really nice when you know who you are, and I’m still figuring that out, but I’m a bit closer,” she said.
Katie Leung on the new Harry Potter series
The Harry Potter series is currently in development by HBO Max. Asked what the actor would wish to the artist essaying her character in the series, Leung said it’s important to “just be themselves”.
“For anybody really, (whatever) stage in their life, (my advice is) just to be themselves, because that’s what makes them unique…And to not let the kind of noise of other people get to you, because what you have already is a gift, and you should really just try and hold onto that,” she said.
