“I Was Afraid I’d Be Recognized and Judged from Being Watched in Those Films” – Katie Leung on Acting After “Potter”
In last week’s Alumni Roundup, we caught up with what Katie Leung, who played Cho Chang in the final four Potter films, has been up to.
Leung has been very active on the stage since Potter ended, acting in plays such as Wild Swans, The World of Extreme Happiness, You for Me for You, and most recently, Snow in Midsummer.
Whatsonstage.com had an exclusive interview with Leung, where she covered everything from the story line of her new play to why she chose acting after Potter.
In Snow in Midsummer, Leung plays a character named Dou Yi, who is executed for a murder she did not commit. She puts a curse on the town and returns as a justice-seeking specter. Leung believes that even though the play is based off a 13th-century Chinese play, the message will still resonate with audiences nowadays.
It’s the same with Shakespeare: if it’s a good story then it should still speak to audiences today. Especially because it is about the injustices of the world. It’s not difficult to find inspiration because of what is happening [around us]. I don’t think it will be something that the audience will find difficult to grasp.
Leung didn’t always dream of acting, though. The Scottish actress stated that it wasn’t until after auditioning for Potter that she thought of acting as a potential career path. And yet even after acting in such hugely successful movies such as the Potter franchise, doubt still lingered in the back of her mind.
Leung went back to college to study photography but eventually ended up realizing that her true passion was acting and was cast in Wild Swans in her final year of her photography degree.
It spurred me on because I was surrounded by actors who had trained, and it made me realize how much I didn’t know about simple things like stagecraft, voice work, warming up before a show. It was inspiring watching fellow actors having a process for what they do before a show. It just re-ignited a passion – or maybe just initiated it because I had never been on stage before…Part of [being hesitant] was that I was afraid I would be recognized and judged from being watched in those films, so that held me back for a bit. But I auditioned and got in, and I am really glad that I did.
She then went on to graduate from Royal Conservatoire in 2015.
Leung even had kind words for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child!
I have watched it recently, and it was f***ing brilliant! I was really impressed with the performances. It brought back many memories, but I was blown away by how much I could empathize with every character onstage. It made everyone very human. I loved every minute of it.
We are certainly so happy to see a truly talented member of the Potter alumni achieve such success on the stage!
Have you seen any of Leung’s plays? What did you think of them? Are you excited to see Potter alumni branching out to the stage? Let us know in the comments below!
