I almost chose shopping over Harry
By Rick Fulton (August 6, 2005)
Source: Daily Record

Exclusive The Scots girl who will steal Potter's heart as Cho Chang tells how her dad made her go for the part which will make her a star.

NEXT week Harry Potter actress Katie Leung turns 18 - but she has already become one of the world's best-known Scots.

That's even before her movie debut in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which comes out on November 18.

But her role as Cho Chang - Harry's first crush - has been so feverishly anticipated that Katie, from Motherwell, is now known around the world.

It could have been very different, however as she almost passed up the audition to go on a shopping spree instead.

Katie said: 'My dad and I were watching the telly one day and saw an advert for my character. It was weird because it fitted me perfectly.

'You had to be 16, have long dark hair, and be oriental.

'He suggested that I go in and try for the part.

'I was like, 'Oh, I'm not sure because I have never done any acting before.' 'He said, 'It's in London,' and I was thinking that London means shopping.

'I said, 'OK, let's go'. Then when we got there the line was so long I thought, 'No way.' I was ready to go shopping.

'But my dad insisted I stayed, so I ended up waiting for four hours.When I finally got in, they took a picture of me and said they would call back.

'I was only in there for about five minutes after hours of waiting.

'Then they called me two weeks later and said I should come in for a general workshop.

'I did improvisation with the drama teacher and a few weeks after that I had to go back for a screen test. Eventually I got the part.'

Katie beat 4000 other hopefuls to win the role of Cho, the girl who Harry, played by Daniel Radcliffe, falls for and gives him his first kiss.

Author J. K. Rowling wanted an unknown to play Cho, but didn't know how close she would be to finding her.

Dad Peter, who is separated from her mum Kar Wai-li, moved to Scotland 20 years ago from Hong Kong and owns a Chinese food wholesale firm and a restaurant.

Katie, who was born in Scotland and now lives with her dad, two brothers and sister, has been privately educated. And as well as being hugely thankful to her father for making her do the audition, she is also happy her pals finally know about the lucky break.

She said: 'When I got the part I wasn't allowed to say anything about it to my friends until it was official. I had to wait three months, which was really hard.Then when I finally told them, they couldn't believe it. They are really supportive and proud of me.'

Even with such a high-profile film debut, Katie isn't throwing her studies away to become an actress.

The teenager, whose favourite star is Scarlett Johansson, said: 'I definitely want to carry on with acting, but I don't want to rely on it.

'So maybe after school I am going to apply to university or art school because I like art.'

But for now, her mind is on Harry Potter and the huge worldwide interest in the fourth film.

It stars Daniel as the boy wizard, Rupert Grint as Ron, Emma Watson as Hermione, Michael Gambon as Dumbledore, Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid and Alan Rickman as Snape.

Lord Voldemort, the wizard who killed Harry's parents, will finally be made flesh by Ralph Fiennes.

And other new faces include Brendan Gleeson as Mad-Eye Moody,Miranda Richardson as journalist Rita Skeeter and Robert Pattinson as heart-throb Cedric Diggory who takes Cho to the ball rather than Harry, breaking his heart.

Not surprisingly Katie admits she was really nervous taking on such a big film.

She said: 'The first time I met Daniel, Rupert and Emma I was actually doing a drama workshop with them.

'That was really intimidating because I was asked to improvise, do some drama and act a bit.

'But it was cool because when we spoke afterwards they told me not to worry about it and it would be great fun.'

Don't think it was glamour though. Katie said: 'When we weren't filming we usually had to do studying.'

One of the big set pieces in the film will be the Yule Ball, held during Christmas and open to fourth years and above.

It also features Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker in a group called the Weird Sisters, who provide the music for the pupils to strut their stuff to.

Katie said: 'My favourite scene is probably the ball because we got to dress up, put on make-up and get our hair put up and everything.

'But the whole acting process has been really magical with this film and it's like a dream come true when you walk on to one of the sets.'

Pretty Katie was a Harry Potter fan before landing the part - she had read the first three books and seen the first three films, however that still meant she didn't know much about Cho.

The character is mentioned in the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, when Harry gets butterflies at the sight of her playing a Quidditch game (she is a Seeker for Ravenclaw house).

Katie said: 'I didn't really know what kind of character Cho would be until after I had got the part.

'The books are really hard to put down. So I started to read the fourth one and then got to know what she was like.'

For a start, shopaholic Katie is different from Cho when it comes to clothes.

She explained: 'Cho Chang is a girly girl. She likes skirts and I am much more of a tomboy. I like trousers and jeans, whatever is comfortable.

'I love music and like to play the piano. I started when I was younger, but I had to stop for education and other stuff. I definitely want to get back to it though when I get some spare time. I love to shop and go to cinema too, you know, all the usual stuff that a seventeen-year-old likes.'

Off screen, she and Daniel, 16, became good friends and she revealed he was very well-mannered and was always asking if she was OK and getting her drinks.

She also became pals with Emma,who plays Hermione, but ironically later, in book five, Cho becomes jealous of her.

Katie said: 'All the girls bonded together and then there were the boys. Girls like to gossip.

'I am good friends with all the new cast as well because we are all new here."

» Back