Katie Leung Went From ‘Harry Potter’ to ‘Bridgerton’ — But She Almost Quit Acting Entirely
Katie Leung was Cho Chang, Harry’s first crush in the Harry Potter films. She appeared in five of the eight movies. But what happened after the franchise ended sent Leung on a winding path through self-doubt, a photography degree and years of limited casting before she landed a role in one of Netflix’s biggest series: Bridgerton.
Her story traces a path many people in their 30s and 40s will recognize — being defined by a single chapter, struggling with impossible expectations and eventually finding the nerve to start over.
‘Nothing’s Going to Beat It’
In a February 2026 interview with The Guardian, Leung described the disorientation she felt when Harry Potter ended.
“I remember coming out of it [Harry Potter] and thinking, ‘Nothing’s going to beat it,’ because it was so successful. I remember being lost, going, ‘What’s next? People will have these high expectations of me topping it, and it’s never going to happen.’ I think I was so afraid of meeting these expectations that I gave up, or didn’t give myself the chance, after it, to try and continue acting,” she told the outlet.
For many actors, five films in a global franchise would be a launchpad. For Leung, it became a kind of trap — not because of what it gave her, but because of the weight of what she believed had to come next.
A Photography Degree and a Quiet Realization
Rather than push forward in acting, Leung stepped away. She started a degree in photography, choosing a path removed from the spotlight that had shaped her teenage years.
Towards the end of her studies, she got a part in a play. Something shifted. On stage, she remembers thinking, “No, actually, this is what I want to do.”
She went on to study drama at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, committing fully to the craft she had once walked away from.
Typecasting and the Trap of Gratitude
Even after earning her drama credentials, Leung’s path stayed complicated. For a long time after drama school, she was mainly considered for roles that were “these kind of epic tales of the east, whether that be North Korea or China. Deep, dark subject matters.”
In the BBC drama One Child, she played the child of a Chinese mother, adopted by a British-American couple. In Channel 4’s Run, she played an unauthorised migrant. Leung said she enjoyed these roles, “and it gave me the chance to be more knowledgable about the world, and the injustices that happen around us all the time.”
But the range felt narrow. And Leung pinpointed something about the way self-doubt can disguise itself as humility.
“It’s one of these things where just because there weren’t many roles out there, I was incredibly grateful to be considered. A large part of that was me, again, giving myself a hard time, thinking I wasn’t deserving of anything.”
Lady Araminta Gun Arrives in ‘Bridgerton’
Now Leung has joined one of the biggest shows on television. She’s playing Lady Araminta Gun in Bridgerton Season 4, a villainous turn as a major antagonist in the romance between Sophie (Yerin Ha) and Benedict (Luke Thompson).
It’s a far cry from the shy, lovelorn Cho Chang.
“I feel really blessed, genuinely,” she told The Guardian about joining the massive production. But what stands out is the confidence behind her words — not the anxiety of a young woman trying to live up to a franchise, but the ease of someone who has put in the work of figuring out who she is.
“It feels quite familiar, in a sense. Also I’m older, and at a place in my life where I’m not too fazed going into something seemingly so huge.”
A Possible return — and a Third Husband?
The response to Bridgerton has “been amazing,” Leung told People, and she’s “definitely” down to reprise her role as Lady Araminta Gun in future seasons.
She had some playful ideas about what that could look like.
“I don’t know what she would do, though, if I came back. She’s had her comeuppance and everything,” Leung says. “Maybe it’d be something like a new romance for Araminta, because I think that’s what she needs. She needs a bit of love in her life — or a third husband. Or a grandchild!”
All episodes of Season 4 of Bridgerton are out on Netflix now.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
This story was originally published March 2, 2026 at 4:56 PM.
