HE was relatively unknown before 2018, and in one year he is already listed as one of “the rising stars and up-and-comers who are shaping their industries – and the future” by Time magazine.
Golding’s name appears next to other upcoming names such as Camila Cabello, Billie Elish, Liza Koshy, Jason Reynolds, Ezra Miller, and Ryan O’Connell.
“The first time I met Henry Golding, I was so delighted that Jon M. Chu, the director of Crazy Rich Asians, had found me the ‘perfect son’”, wrote his co-star Datuk Michelle Yeoh.
“I feel very fortunate to know such an incredible man who’s never lost sight of where he came from.”
She added: “His ethnicity, his background and his success reflect the inevitable – that we are all one race, one global culture, and we will soon no longer have to talk about controversies surrounding representation. I am proud of his push for Asian representation.”
Crazy Rich Asians was Golding’s breakout role. In the film, he plays Nick Young, the scion of a wealthy family, model son to the staunchly traditional Eleanor Young, played by Yeoh, and fiance to the film’s protagonist Rachel Chu, played by Constance Wu.
From there he starred in A Simple Favour, a 2018 comedy crime drama about a single mother with a vlog who investigates the disappearance of her reclusive upper-class friend. Here he plays English professor Sean Townsend, husband to Emily Nelson (Blake Lively), one of the lead characters in the film.
In 2019 Golding once again appeared on the silver screen in Monsoon as Kit, a British Vietnamese man who returns to Saigon for the first time in over 30 years, after fleeing during the Vietnam-American War.
No longer familiar with the country and unable to speak the language, Kit embarks on a personal journey from Saigon to Hanoi in search of a place to scatter his parents’ ashes.
Most recently Golding once again starred alongside Yeoh in the romantic comedy, Last Christmas, directed by Paul Feig. In this film, Golding plays the idyllic Tom, who mysteriously appears just as Kate’s (Emilia Clarke) life is falling apart, and who helps her fix it.
Golding will next be seen in The Gentlemen, where he plays a gang leader from Asia who flies to London to buy out the hugely successful marijuana empire of a wealthy American expat, played by Matthew McConaughey.
Come 2021, Golding is set to play the titular role in Snake Eyes, a spin-off movie about the black-clad ninja from the hugely popular cartoon and toy turn movie franchise, G.I. Joe. The film is currently in post-production.
Not too bad, for the man who was born Henry Ewan Golding on Feb 5, 1987 in Betong, Sarawak to an English father (Clive Golding) and an Iban mother (Margaret Likan Golding).
His family moved to Surrey, England, when Golding was eight years old, after living in Terengganu for almost five years. He then moved to Kuala Lumpur when he was 21 to pursue on-camera roles.
Golding’s first foray in show business was as a host for the BBC’s The Travel Show in 2014, and he also made headway as a model.
In 2015, Golding became engaged to Liv Lo, a Taiwanese television presenter and yoga instructor, and the two were married in Sarawak, in Aug 2016.
Before the wedding, Golding completed his bejalai (an Iban tradition when a young man returns from a successful sojourn) and received a traditional hand-tapped tattoo.
His adventure was recorded for Discovery Asia’s Surviving Borneo TV show.
When asked about his name, Golding, in an interview said: “Golding is really darn Jewish, isn’t it?
“My grandfather during the war was in London, and as the story goes, he was possibly adopted by a Jewish family by that name. Out of respect, he took on their name, and it was passed down. So, I’m proud to be an honourary Jew.” – Agencies
