Leung identifies with Potter
(November 10, 2005)
Source: SciFi

Katie Leung, who plays Cho Chang in the upcoming Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, told SCI FI Wire that she plays the boy wizard's first crush, but feels like she has more in common with Harry himself. "I can identify with Harry in a way, because I've really come out of my shell through working on this film," the Scottish actress said in a news conference in London. "I've had such an enjoyable experience. Before all this happened I was like a typical schoolgirl and really, really shy at school, and being in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has brought out so much confidence in me. I'm more outspoken, more outgoing, and that has been the greatest achievement for me."

In the fourth movie based on J.K. Rowling's best-selling books, Leung plays Cho, who bewitches a shy Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe). Potter faces dragons and other daunting tasks during the course of the movie, but with Cho faced one of his greatest challenges ever: plucking up enough courage to ask the girl of his dreams to Hogwart's Yule Ball.

Leung is not the only newcomer in the film series. Stanislav Ianevski makes his first appearance, playing Viktor Krum, one of Harry's rivals for the Triwizard Cup. "For me particularly, being in this movie is a very big thing," Ianevski said. "I'm from Bulgaria, which is not a very big country, and it's not very well known around the world. Harry Potter means a lot to the country, and because of this role, I've been praised as a little hero over there."

Ianevski added: "I thought I would feel like a new schoolboy in a new school entering the Harry Potter world. But we [the newcomers] were extremely warmly welcomed, and we got to know each other really soon. We went into the really difficult maze scene right at the beginning of shooting; then [the movie] became part of my life straightaway, and I've really enjoyed the experience." Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire opens Nov. 18.

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