Does Bridgerton Newcomer Katie Leung Look Familiar? Yep, She Played Cho Chang
Grainne Quinlan/Getty Images
As Bridgerton season four gets underway, one name among the new additions to the cast stands out: Katie Leung. Anyone over the age of 10 has probably seen her before. She played Cho Chang in the Harry Potter films. (Starting in the fourth, all the way through the eighth; if you somehow missed it, Cho, a Ravenclaw, is Harry’s sweet but overly emotional crush before he gets with Ginny, and she fights for the good guys through the end of the series.)
To be clear, Leung is a versatile actor who has appeared in a wide variety of projects throughout her successful career, but to millennials, the HP films are foundational, and I’m personally really happy to see Leung in a big, high-budget, high-profile franchise again.
Mike Newell (left) joins actors Katie Leung, Robert Pattinso
Katie Leung has spoken about how a subset of racist Harry Potter fans protested her casting online (Leung is of Chinese heritage and grew up in Scotland), and how she was coached to ignore and downplay their attacks. Now, cast as Lady Araminta Gun, she steps into another role from a highly popular book series with a rabid fan base—though one hopes that, by now, Bridgerton fans have gotten used to the racially diverse casting choices the series makes. Then again, there’s always someone upset about something.
Since she announced the news on her Instagram page, Leung’s comments have been flooded with well-wishers excited for her.
Sorry but look at this gal. She’s adorable. We simply cannot be mean to her! Even if her character is…kind of a pill. “Twice married and twice widowed, Araminta has two girls debuting on the marriage mart this season and is feeling the pressure to get at least one of them married off. Fabulous, discerning, and blunt, Araminta does not respond well when anything—or anyone—threatens her standing in society,” is the official description, per Variety. She’s the not so nice employer of Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha), who will—spoiler!—be the season’s love interest for Benedict.
Great casting. Fifty points to Ravenclaw.
Originally Appeared on Glamour
