Katie Leung

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Template:Short description Template:Good article Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters".Template:Wikidata image Katie Leung (born 8 August 1987; Script error: No such module "IPA".[1]) is a British actress. She first gained fame for playing Cho Chang, Harry Potter's first love interest in the Harry Potter film series, and subsequently for her roles as Caitlyn Kiramman in the Netflix animated series Arcane (2021–2024) and Ash in the Amazon Prime Video sci-fi series The Peripheral (2022). Among British television audiences, Leung is known for her lead roles in the miniseries dramas One Child (2014) and Strangers (2018) and her supporting role in the police dramedy Annika (2021–2023).

Early life

Leung was born in Dundee to Peter Leung, a Hong-Kong-born businessman and restaurateur who opened a company in Glasgow, and Kar Wai Li, a banker. Her parents divorced when she was three, and she continued living in Scotland with her father, stepmother, and siblings after her mother moved back to Hong Kong.[2][3] Her father's occupation led to Leung growing up in several towns, including Ayr, Hamilton and Motherwell.[2] She attended Hamilton College.[4][5]

Career

2004–2011: Early roles and Harry Potter

Leung's father saw an advertisement for a Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire casting call, and suggested she should try out. She queued for four hours for a five-minute audition despite feeling she had little likelihood of obtaining the role.[6] Two weeks later she was called back for a workshop and was cast as Cho Chang, beating more than 3,000 other girls for the part.[7] She has stated that her Scottish accent probably gave her an advantage in the casting,[8] as the casting director asked the girls who attended the audition, "Is there anyone here from Scotland?", to which only Leung raised her hand.[9]

File:Katie Leungpremiere2008.jpg
Leung at the Tokyo premiere of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2005

In a 2011 interview Leung recalled how her fondest memory of the Harry Potter experience was the first audition, because both her parents, who were separated at the time, went with her: "It was a really nice moment because my parents hadn't seen each other for a long, long time."[10] In an effort to heavily promote Goblet of Fire, Warner Bros. sent Leung to China in the film's second week of release, in an atypical move towards a market that was not used to frequent celebrity visits at the time.[11]

Leung reprised her role in the subsequent films in the series, most notably Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in which her character had the distinction of being Harry Potter's first romance. As a result, Leung and co-star Daniel Radcliffe (Harry) shared an on-screen kiss that received much media coverage. While Leung was greeted warmly by most of the fandom, other fans created hate websites in response to her casting and posted many racist messages which were upsetting to her at the time.[12][13] In March 2021 Leung opened up further about the racist harassment she received from fans while filming Harry Potter; appearing on an episode of the Chinese Chippy Girl podcast, she revealed that she was told by her publicists to deny what was happening if any interviewer asked.[14]

Leung was named Scotland's most stylish female and the hottest Scotswoman in 2007 by Scotland on Sunday.[15] In July 2007, she was cast by Gold Label Records, a subsidiary of EMI in Hong Kong, to be the female lead in the music video Love Coming Home (Script error: No such module "Lang".) by Leo Ku.[16] In her first role outside of Harry Potter, Leung played Hsui Tai in the episode "Cat Among the Pigeons" of ITV1's Agatha Christie's Poirot, which premiered on 21 September 2008.[17]

2012–2021

Following the end of Harry Potter, Leung was uncertain if she wanted to further pursue a career in acting but was inspired to continue after attending a drama course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.[18] In December 2011, she was awarded the role of Jung Chang as her stage debut role in Chang's autobiographical play Wild Swans.[19] In comparing film to live performances, Leung said, "The obvious challenge is of course getting it right the first time, which is weirdly exciting for me."[20] The play made its world premiere in Cambridge, Massachusetts in February 2012, before returning to Motherwell and concluding with an April–May run at the Young Vic in London.[21][22]

In June 2012, it was confirmed that Leung would star in the Channel 4 four-part drama series Run as leading character Ying, an undocumented Chinese immigrant living in Brixton.[23] In 2013, Leung starred alongside Vera Chok in The World of Extreme Happiness, a play about the world of migrant workers in China's rapidly emerging modern era. In the production, staged at The Shed at the National Theatre, she played the role of Sunny, a female migrant worker.[24]

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File:Katie leung 2020 3.jpg
Leung at the German Comic Con Home Edition in 2020

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In April 2014, it was announced that Leung was to play the lead role of Mei, a first-born Chinese girl adopted by an American mother and British father, in the TV miniseries One Child. In the story, her character is asked to return to her birthplace, Guangzhou, when her birth mother desperately seeks her assistance in saving her son. The series, a co-production of BBC Drama and Sundance TV, filmed in May 2014 in London and Hong Kong, aired on Sundance TV in December 2014, and was broadcast on BBC Two in February 2016.[25] Leung received praise from Catherine Gee of The Daily Telegraph, who called her performance "beautifully understated".[26]

In late 2016, Leung appeared in the Tony Kushner play The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures (iHo) at the Hampstead Theatre in London.[27] In 2017, she co-starred with Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan in The Foreigner, playing Fan, Chan's character's daughter. This was followed by a supporting role as Lau Chen in the ITV drama Strangers, also known by the title White Dragon.[28] Leung subsequently appeared in recurring roles as DC Blair Ferguson in the Alibi series Annika, the voice of Caitlyn in the Netflix series Arcane, and Ash in the Amazon Prime Video series The Peripheral.[29][30][31]

2022–present

In January 2022, Leung's essay "Getting into Character" was published in the book East Side Voices: Essays Celebrating East & Southeast Asian Identity in Britain.[32] In her essay, Leung wrote about how her ethnicity impacted her experiences growing up and her acting career.[33] In 2023, Leung starred in the first season of Paramount+'s series adaptation of Simon Beckett's novel The Chemistry of Death.[34] In 2024, she appeared in the BBC One miniseries Nightsleeper.[35] In September 2024, Leung joined the regular cast of Bridgerton as Lady Araminta Gun for its forthcoming fourth season.[36][37][38][39]

Charity work

In 2007, Leung helped The Prince's Trust charity raise £100,000 by launching a children's art competition, donating one of her own paintings that was auctioned for £960.[40] In 2009, she donated a photo to Sightsavers International's I:Click 2009 competition, with benefits going to treat and prevent blindness for residents of impoverished countries.[41][42] In 2018, Leung ran a 10K run for My Body Back, a charity that supports victims of sexual violence.[43]

Personal life

Leung speaks fluent Cantonese and basic Mandarin.[44][45] She is a vegetarian.[46]

Leung delayed plans to go to art college and university to film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. During this period, Leung had said she was undecided about pursuing an acting career after Harry Potter and wished to attend university to study art and design.[7] Leung briefly studied painting at University of the Arts London before completing a photography degree at Edinburgh College of Art.[10][47] Following this, she attended the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, where she completed the BA in Acting course.[48]

On 19 August 2018, Leung participated in the wedding of her Harry Potter castmate Afshan Azad.[49] On 1 January 2023, for New Year's Day, Leung revealed on Instagram that her son had been born the previous Halloween.[50] Her pregnancy was worked into the second series of Annika, which she filmed prior to giving birth.[51]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Director Notes Ref.
2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Cho Chang Mike Newell
2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix David Yates
2009 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
2017 T2 Trainspotting Nurse Danny Boyle
The Foreigner Fan Quan Martin Campbell
2018 The Feast Hayley Gaelle Mourre Short film
2020 The Promise The Thief Chi Thai
2021 Locked Down Natasha Doug Liman

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2008 Agatha Christie's Poirot Hsui Tai Episode: "Cat Among the Pigeons"
2013 Run Ying 2 episodes
2014 Father Brown Jia-Li Gerard Episode: "The Prize of Colonel Gerard"
One Child Mei Ashley 3 episodes
2018 Leading Lady Parts Assistant Television short
Strangers Lau Chen 8 episodes
2019 Chimerica Liuli 4 episodes
Moominvalley Too-Ticky Voice; 2 episodes
2020 The Nest Eleanor 5 episodes
Roadkill Margaret Moore 3 episodes
2021 Dodo Sobhan Murphy Voice; 4 episodes
2021–2023 Annika DC Blair Ferguson 12 episodes
2021–2024 Arcane Caitlyn Kiramman Voice; 14 episodes
2022 The Peripheral Ash 8 episodes
2023 The Chemistry of Death Maggie Cassidy 4 episodes
The Wheel of Time Yasicca 3 episodes
2024 Nightsleeper Rachel Li 6 episodes
2026 Bridgerton Lady Araminta Gun 8 episodes

Video games

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Cho Chang Voice
2009 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
2020 Cyberpunk 2077 Un­known
2022 Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Rose Tico

Podcasts

Year Title Role Director Notes Ref.
2024 1984 Ling Destiny Ekaragha Voice
2025 Flesh and Code Lily Rose[52] Voice

Music video appearances

Year Song Artist Role Director Ref.
2007 Love Coming Home Leo Ku Girlfriend Ricky Hayashi

Theatre

Year Title Role Venue Ref.
2012 Wild Swans Jung Chang Young Vic, London
2013 The World of Extreme Happiness Sunny Royal National Theatre, London
2014 The Hypochondriac Béline Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow
2015 You For Me For You Junhee Royal Court Theatre, London
2016 iHo Sooze Hampstead Theatre, London
2017 Snow in Midsummer Dou Yi Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
2019 White Pearl Sunny Royal Court Theatre, London
2024 The Comeuppance Kristina Almeida Theatre, London

Awards and nominations

Year Presenter Category Result Ref.
2006 Asian Excellence Awards Outstanding Newcomer Nominated [53]
Young Scot Award Achievement in Entertainment Nominated [54]
2007 Scottish Style Awards Most Stylish Female Won [55]
CosmoGirl Hot 100 List Won [56]
2008 MTV Movie Awards Best Kiss (with Daniel Radcliffe) Nominated [57]
2014 BAFTA Breakthrough Brit Won [58]

References

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  4. ↑ LAU KIT WAI. Katie casts a spell. South China Morning Post. YOUNGPOST; Pg. 1. 11 December 2005.
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  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Tatlow, Didi Kirsten (30 November 2014). "Opaque Justice in China: Katie Leung Stars in 'One Child' by Guy Hibbert". The New York Times.
  26. ↑ Gee, Catherine (17 February 2016). "Gripping drama One Child exposes how fragile China is – review". The Daily Telegraph.
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Hale, Mike (6 February 2019). "Review: Hong Kong Tourist-Noir in Amazon's 'White Dragon'". The New York Times.
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  46. ↑ "Harry Potter star on why she loves coming home to Scotland for Greggs' vegan sausage roll", Daily Record, 17 April 2019.
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  58. ↑ [1] Katie Leung, BAFTA Breakthrough Brits 2014 Template:Webarchive

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External links

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