Katie Leung Shares Advice for HBO’s New Cho Chang

Katie Leung is passing the wand to a new generation. As HBO prepares its long-awaited Harry Potter television reboot, the original Cho Chang actress has shared heartfelt advice for the young star stepping into her old role.

Leung, who was just 16 when she debuted as Cho in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, knows exactly how overwhelming that spotlight can feel. Now 38 and starring as Lady Araminta Gun in Bridgerton, she’s reflecting on fame, fandom, and finding your footing in the Wizarding World.

“Just be themselves”

Asked what she would say to the actress cast as Cho in HBO’s upcoming series, Leung admitted it’s difficult to give neat advice to someone that young. When she joined the franchise, she was still figuring out who she was. By the time Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 arrived in 2011, she had spent her entire late teens and early twenties growing up in public.

Looking back, she says she “certainly didn’t know who I was” as a teenager. That uncertainty, she suggests, is natural — especially under global scrutiny.

Her core message is simple: be yourself. That individuality is the real magic. She encouraged the new actress not to let outside noise define her, adding that what she already has is a gift worth holding onto.

From teenage fame to a new era

Leung has spoken candidly about the online harassment she faced after being cast in Goblet of Fire, describing the sudden attention as overwhelming from the start in a recent interview with The Guardian. Social media was in its infancy then. Today’s young actors enter a far more connected — and often harsher — digital landscape.

HBO’s series, which is targeting an early 2027 premiere window, promises a fresh adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s novels for a new audience, as we’ve previously reported in our coverage of the HBO Harry Potter series. Casting announcements have already sparked intense fan debate, including news that the reboot has cast a second Ron Weasley as the production builds out its ensemble.

Cho Chang remains a pivotal figure in Harry’s Hogwarts years — his first crush, a symbol of teenage heartbreak, and a character many readers are eager to see reinterpreted with more depth on screen.

For book lovers who grew up with the series, Leung’s words feel like a bridge between eras. One Cho Chang faced the storm of early internet fandom. Another is about to step into a far louder world. If Leung’s advice holds, the best protection spell may simply be authenticity.