Katie Leung, known for her portrayal of Cho Chang in the Harry Potter series, recently sat down with The Sunday Post to discuss her life past her days at Hogwarts. At just eighteen years old, Leung became part of one of the biggest franchises in the entire world. Not so shabby for her first acting credit. But when the Harry Potter films ended in 2011, Leung felt it was important to grow past her impressive resume and return to school.
Following her Hogwarts days, Leung almost decided to quit acting. However, she explains that instead, she decided to go to drama school to “have some life experiences in the real world” before making her decision permanent. Leung ended her time as Cho Chang when she was only twenty-four, a pivotal age for many young adults. While Leung attests to learning so much on the Potter set, she says that being vulnerable was “the most important thing [she] learned at drama school.” Although her resume had grown exponentially over her early adult years, she explains that none of her on-screen experience could have taught the lessons she learned from her time at drama school.
“I took that time out to study, and I don’t know if it made me a better or worse actor but that’s beside the point, it was about life experience, about learning other people’s life experiences and having empathy for other people.”
VIA THE SUNDAY POST
Since finishing drama school, Leung returned to acting in full force. She has starred in several television shows (like White Dragon, The Nest, and Roadkill) and most recently stars in the maritime homicide drama, Annika. It seems like returning to school only did positive things for Leung, both in the acting world and the real world. Although, we think she would have done amazing things without school, as well.
Leung was most recently in the news to address J.K. Rowling’s transphobic remarks on Twitter and the racism around the character of Cho Chang. On her character, Leung admitted that her publicists convinced her to keep quiet about the racist attacks she received throughout filming. While Leung is thankful to have played the part that kickstarted her career, she is now confident in speaking out against the wrongs that both Rowling and the series have portrayed. You can read about Leung’s statements here and here.
FEATURED IMAGE VIA DAILY RECORD