“Harry Potter” alum Katie Leung told Entertainment Tonight in a new interview that she wouldn’t want to return to her days of playing Cho Chang in the hit fantasy franchise.
“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,” said Leung, who recently portrayed Lady Araminta Gun on “Bridgerton.” “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. 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.”
Leung, who appeared in five “Harry Potter” movies, also spoke to Variety in February about her experience filming, saying, “My first job — ‘Harry Potter’ — I had never acted before in my life, and suddenly I was in front of 20 cameras and 100 people, completely lost, still figuring out who I was. I can’t say I had the time of my life.”
She went on to compare the experience to her time on “Arcane and “Bridgerton,” saying she felt like she “deserved” to be on those shows. “I never questioned it. And once you stop questioning it, you can actually focus on bringing your best work.”
Leung made her screen debut as Cho in 2005 with “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” the fourth movie in the franchise. Originally written as a love interest for Harry Potter, Cho later appeared in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1,” and “Part 2.”
The actress also shared some advice with Entertainment Tonight for whoever plays Cho in HBO’s upcoming “Harry Potter” TV adaptation.
“For anybody really, [whatever] stage in their life, [my advice is] just to be themselves, because that’s what makes them unique,” Leung said. “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.”
Leung recently spoke out about dealing with racism and backlash while filming “Harry Potter” in an interview with The Guardian.
“I don’t know if anything could have been done back then to make things better or easier,” Leung said. “At that age, you’re curious. I remember being very curious about what people were saying about me, and I was Googling myself. Nobody could have stopped me, because I was old enough to make up my own mind.”
“I think it just sat with me, and it affected me in ways like, ‘Oh yeah, I made that decision because people were saying this about me.’ It probably made me less outgoing,” she continued about the racism she found online about her casting. “I was very self-aware of what was coming out of my mouth. And for the longest time, I may have tried to make up for it and overcompensate.”
