Harry Potter star Katie Leung has said she “would not want to go back” to her time filming the series.
The actress originally rose to fame playing Cho Chang in the fantasy films, though admitted in a new interview that she was still figuring herself out at the time.
“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,” she told Entertainment Tonight, saying her current role in Bridgerton has been more positive as she has a “really healthy focus on the work”.
“I would not want to go back to that time,” she continued. “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.”
@entertainmenttonight Katie Leung says she was in a much healthier place when she took on her role in ‘Bridgerton’ and admits she would not relive her ‘Harry Potter’ days. #katieleung #bridgerton #harrypotter
♬ original sound – Entertainment Tonight – Entertainment Tonight
It comes after Leung recently opened up about racist abuse she was subjected to while appearing in Harry Potter, telling The Guardian of how she coped: “I didn’t. 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. I was very self-aware of what was coming out of my mouth,” she added, saying of being suddenly catapulted to fame: “It happened by pure chance. And for the longest time, I may have tried to make up for it, and overcompensate.”
As well as the Harry Potter films and Bridgerton, Leung has appeared in TV shows such as Nightsleeper, The Wheel of Time and Arcane.
Meanwhile, the Harry Potter franchise is currently gearing up for a new HBO series based on the books, which will feature newcomers Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout taking over the roles of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.
Original Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe recently spoke about his successor in the role, admitting he thinks McLaughlin will be “better” than he was in the films.
“I’m sure Dominic is going to be better than me,” he told ScreenRant. “I learned as I went. I look back on what I did now with a lot more kindness, and I find it less embarrassing now that I’m older. But I was very much learning how to do it for a long time on Potter.”
Elsewhere, Cillian Murphy – who has been rumoured to play the new Voldemort in the series – recently admitted he was unaware of the speculation, adding he was “categorically not” playing the role of the villain.