When Katie Leung landed the part of Cho Chang in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as a teen, it should have been a fairy tale for the next five films within the franchise that she starred in. Rather, the Scottish actress, barely 16 then, rapidly became a centre of attention for reasons that had nothing to do with her acting. 

Leung has now candidly spoken about the racist bullying and hatred she went through at that time, which latched onto her identity for a long time.

For Katie Leung, sudden fame was overwhelming from the start, mainly as she was an insecure teen thrust into the global spotlight. Being curious about the public's opinion, she did a Google search on her name, only to be greeted by a deluge of racist remarks and even a hate website set up by some Harry Potter fans to keep opposing her casting. 

“It was overwhelming from the get-go. Being in the spotlight from that age, when you’re already insecure, was difficult, to say the least,” Leung told The Guardian.

"I think it just sat with me, and it affected me in ways like, ‘Oh yeah, I made that decision because people were saying this about me.’ It probably made me less outgoing. I was very self-aware of what was coming out of my mouth," Leung recalled to the outlet on how the online bullying took a toll on her, making her less sociable and overtly conscious.

While she was enjoying herself on the set, coming across such hate on the internet affected her mental well-being in a way that she admitted she could not handle back then. With Harry Potter already being a global phenomenon, the actress downplayed her calibre to attribute her role to fate; however, she has bounced back since then.

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With the tides now shifting, as Harry Potter evacuates Netflix, Katie Leung moves into one of the streaming titan's phenonmenal franchises.

Katie Leung, who is now 38 and a mother, is smoothly moving forward in her career, having mastered the art of putting acting into perspective and drawing a line when it comes to online negativity. She is set to play the character of Lady Araminta Gun in the series Bridgerton Season 4.

Lady Araminta Gun is nowhere close to a stereotypical costume drama matriarch. She had been married and widowed twice. Her resilience and determination to secure beneficial matches for her two daughters, Rosamund Li (Michelle Mao) and Posy Li (Isabella Wei), are no joke. 

However, the plot thickens when she targets Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson), while concealing her Cinderella-like servant stepdaughter, Sophie. And Leung absolutely does not mind playing a mother as she finds Lady Gun relatable.

“Her drive comes from love and protection for her daughters. I get it, having become a mum. You will do anything for your kids," Leung told The Guardian about resonating with Lady Araminta’s motivations. 

Besides Harry Potter and Bridgerton, the actress has starred in the BBC drama Annika and also lent her voice to the successful Netflix animated series Arcane, proving that racist bullying no longer holds her back. 

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What are your thoughts on Katie Leung facing casting backlash? Let us know in the comments.