HARRY POTTER STAR KATIE LEUNG SPILLS THE TEA ON PLAYING BRIDGERTON’S NEW VILLAIN

Over 20 years ago, Katie Leung soared to fame as Cho Chang, the softly spoken Ravenclaw student who had Harry Potter crushing so hard that he drooled all over himself at breakfast.

Now, she’s joined another fantastical franchise, but of a different kind – the unabashedly frilly, sometimes cutthroat, and overly romantic world of Bridgerton.

Katie, 38, enters the fray in season 4 as Lady Araminta Gun, an affluent woman with two daughters who are out in society, and a maid in her employ who happens to be the new lead star of the show – Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha).

Lady Araminta is painted as the new villain of the tantalising period drama, who’s been twice-widowed and is on a mission to ensure her debutante daughters find grand matches. So what was it like embodying such a formidable antagonist, Metro asked Katie?

‘It’s super fun, obviously, and it’s something very different from anything that I’ve ever done before. I think it’s every actor’s dream to play the villain, to be honest, but especially a villain that’s really nuanced and has a lot of layers,’ the Arcane actress responded.

‘She’s a complex character. To have that backstory that she has that was readily available to me was great as well, because I didn’t have to kind of do my own homework, in a way.’

Lady Araminta might come across as a woman who you don’t want to cross, but as Katie outlines, she is a character with a lot of nuance, who’s experienced her fair share of hardship.

‘It’s very real. It’s rooted in something that I’m sure a lot of people have experienced, being a single mum and trying to navigate having two teenage daughters, trying to sustain, maintain a reputation,’ she said.

‘It’s different nowadays, but back then, it was just imperative that you’re “keeping up with the Joneses”. Meanwhile, being traumatised by loved ones betraying you and being left behind, because she’s twice widowed – there’s a lot going on for her, and I think she’s just trying to hold it together.’

At first glance, Lady Araminta has a tough exterior. She’s dressed in all-black, while her daughters Rosamund (Michelle Mao) and Posy (Isabella Wei) wear bright, ornate gowns. Survival in the Ton requires tenacity, and it appears this matriarch has it in abundance.

‘What you see is just on the surface. Whatever she’s feeling inside, I’m sure is the opposite of how people perceive her to be, which is fun,’ Katie explained.

When audiences tune into the new season of Bridgerton, they might find it hard to sympathise with Lady Araminta given her villainous streak. I expected Katie to urge viewers to give her character the benefit of the doubt – but she said nothing of the sort.

‘I think it’s okay if they go, “No, not for me, she’s unforgivable and she can’t redeem herself.” That’s okay with me too. And I don’t think Araminta would care,’ she affirmed.

‘As long as me, the actor, tries my best to convey those small moments of vulnerability that she has then that’s really rewarding.’

Bridgerton season 4 part 1 premieres on Thursday January 29 on Netflix.

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2026-01-29T16:55:30Z