Henry Golding gobsmacked that fans want selfies, but don’t know his name
HONG KONG: Malaysian-British actor Henry Golding is gobsmacked by the fact that fans are lining up to take selfies with him, but don’t even know his name.
Wisecracked Golding: “Some people don’t even say hello. They come up and say, ‘Can I take your picture?’ and I’m, like, why? And they say, ‘Oh, you’re that guy.’ And I’m, like, ‘Why do you want a photo of me if you don’t even know my name?’”
As for his meteoric rise as an actor, credit it to an accountant with a good memory.
An accountant on Crazy Rich Asians remembered seeing Golding at a Singapore event and thought he would make a perfect Nick Young (the lead male character).
During an interview with TV host Jim Fallon, Golding recalled: “I’m like, ‘No, no, no, no!’”
Golding actually wanted to carry on as a TV presenter, and kept telling director Jon Chu that he’s not an actor. But Jon’s persuasiveness won. For Golding, reality finally sank in when he was selected for the screen test.
Recalled Golding: “That was when I decided it wasn’t like a fluke. It could be possible. Now, it’s down to hard work. Now, you have to put in the effort.” It was a fortnight before he heard the result. “I was in limbo and it was the worst place in the world. I wanted it.”
Before he was a TV presenter, Golding worked in a hair salon in London until, in 2008, a Malaysian client suggested he return to Asia and try his luck with television.
In 2011, he met Liv Lo at a party in Singapore. She is Italian-Taiwanese, a yoga instructor and television presenter. In preparation for their 2016 wedding, Golding, who is half Iban through his mother, decided he would do his bejalai – the journey young Iban men undertake to gain knowledge and wisdom. He filmed it in Betong, where he was born. He lived in Betong until he was eight.
His parents had met in Brunei, where his father was in the British Army’s Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. “My mum was working as an au pair for an expat family over there,” said Golding.
In previous interviews, Golding has mentioned the racism he had encountered as a child in England.
Recounted Golding: “Backlash? Yeah. No one knows the threedimensional story of who I am. Or anyone is. And coming from such a grounded culture as the Iban, you cannot get any more rooted in Asian culture. We’re native. But then, because I have my heritage of being British as well, it always negates that.”