In a new interview with the Daily Mail, Harry Potter actress Katie Leung, who played Cho Chang, talks about filming the Potter series, her life and career post-Harry Potter, her schooling and more. Katie will next be appearing in a four-part miniseries, Run, which will be airing on Channel 4 this coming March. She plays Ying, “a Chinese illegal immigrant selling DVDs to try to free herself from the vicious gang-master who brought her to Britain.” A couple snippets from the interview may be read below.
After Harry Potter you could have gone straight on to another film. Yet you chose to do a play and then go back to drama school. Why?
I was kind of lost and wanted to try different things. After Potter, I wasn’t sure if I could be an actor. I questioned whether they chose me because I fitted the part physically, rather than because of my acting skills.
Were you put off by the mad fans and all the Hollywood hullaballoo?
It was nice to be a part of the premieres and publicity, but it was also a relief to leave it behind. I’m not the type of person who enjoys the limelight. But I’m not ungrateful; I took a lot from the experience. Touring so many countries publicising the films, I was given an opportunity to see the world, encounter different cultures and meet so many amazing, interesting people.
What did Harry Potter give you?
It has definitely helped me decide what I want to do with my life. Before getting the part I had absolutely no idea. From doing Run, I’ve learnt that actors are afraid to tell people what they do because most of the time they’re out of a job. But at this point in time, I’m proud to say that I am an actor.
What is your nature, would you say?
I’m very quiet. I can go a whole week without talking, so doing interviews is really awkward for me! I enjoy my own company a lot – too much, probably. I read, see films, take photographs – that’s it really. One of the things I liked about my character in Run is that she can just disappear into the background if she wants, which is what I’m like.
Katie Leung recently spoke to The Telegraph about how much she enjoys acting on stage. She is currently acting in ‘Wild Swans’ as Jung Chang.
“I love theatre,” effuses Leung, as we huddle in a café on London’s grimy Holloway Road, near where she’s rehearsing. “It’s far more satisfying than film. Sometimes there’s a collective sigh from the audience, or it’s so quiet you can hear a pin drop. I couldn’t believe how easy acting was when there’s an audience; after a few previews I almost couldn’t do it without one.”
And has Wild Swans made Leung, who grew up in Motherwell, Lanarkshire, feel more in touch with her Chinese heritage? “Wild Swans showed me there are Chinese traditions that still affect my life,” she says. “For example, it’s not that women are inferior, exactly, but my dad and my brother are the most important men in my life and I would do anything for them. I feel like I should be the one cooking and looking after them.” And that’s a culturally inherited attitude? “Yes.”
She also talks about her role in Potter and how many of the roles she tries out for are similar, but her part in Wild Swans is different, a stronger character.
“Potter was such a safe environment,” she says. “You knew the next film would be round the corner and you would just go back to it. But afterwards I started to wonder if I was picked because I fitted the role physically; and was concerned that the character I played for the film wasn’t particularly difficult.”
She worries also about being typecast. “In general, the auditions I go up for are very sparse, I guess because of my ethnicity. And the characters are very similar: shy, innocent and naive; the connotations that come from the way that I look.”
Jessie Cave (Lavender Brown) has released yet another short film on her website, PinDippy. This video is called Spy Girl and features Katie Leung, who we all know as Cho Chang from the Potter films.
The Evening Standard has posted a new interview with Katie Leung (Cho Chang) where she discusses how she was almost going to give up on acting after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II. Luckily she took a drama class and has since changed her mind, something I know all her fans are excited about. She also discusses her new stage role in Wild Swans, an epic of Chinese history by Jung Chang, which will be opening on April 13th at the Young Vic and running until May 13th.
She told the Evening Standard: “Harry Potter was an amazing experience but I didn’t know whether I was chosen on my acting ability or because I fitted the character at the time.”
She kept her options open by starting a photography degree at Edinburgh College of Art, and is now in her final year. This summer the Scottish-born star took an intensive acting course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. “Going to drama college reconfirmed my passion for acting and then this stage work popped up,” she said. “I’m really excited to be making my theatre debut. It’s just an amazing opportunity and I couldn’t have asked for anything better than this after Potter. I look forward to representing this truly inspirational story on stage.”
She admitted feeling some “sense of relief” when the Potter series ended, and that she sometimes pretends to be someone else when recognised by fans. But she keeps in touch with cast friends online.
China at the heart of the 20th Century. A nation transformed beyond recognition.
Through the eyes of one fiercely courageous family, Wild Swans takes us on a journey from the early days of Communist hope and struggle, through the chaos and confusion of Mao’s Cultural Revolution to the birth of a superpower.
Magical-Menagerie was in the press pit at the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I London premiere on Thursday November 11th and we now have half of our footage from the event! My correspondent Maura and I had a bit of trouble with the file sending so we only have the first half for now! So watch the video below and check back soon for part 2 of the footage!
Stay tuned for footage from the New York premiere next week!
The Leaky Cauldron has posted up their red carpet interviews from last night’s premiere! They interviewed Emma Watson, David Heyman, David Yates, Jason Isaacs, Matt Lewis, Katie Leung, Evanna Lynch, and Jo Rowling.
I will hopefully have our footage of the event up tonight!
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