HENRY GOLDING
[THE Q&A] HENRY GOLDING on the emotional discovery of Monsoon, doing his own stunts, and becoming an instant film star
The British actor who played an angel (of sorts) in Last Christmas. ‘Angels’ — now that’s another Robbie Williams belter. People wrote him off after he left Take That. Fools!
IN THE SUMMER of 2017, Henry Golding did the Hollywood ‘water-bottle tour’: meeting casting directors sipping Evian, explaining he’d just wrapped debut feature Crazy Rich Asians. “Is that a web-series thing?” asked one. “Weird title you got there.” That “weird title” made $239 million worldwide from a $30 million budget and moved the Britishmalaysian TV presenter onto the A-list. Now he has G.I. Joe actioner Snake Eyes in the can, two Crazy Rich sequels on the way, persistent Bond rumours — and more immediately, Monsoon: an intimate drama from Lilting director Hong Khaou, in which he plays a British-vietnamese man wrestling with grief.
Monsoon is so specific and yet so universal — it makes you want to phone your parents, doesn’t it?
Yeah. Before it’s too late. Sometimes having those hard conversations is worth it. You follow Kit on this journey to find a resting place for his parents’ ashes. He doesn’t know where they’d want to be — in the home they grew up in but ultimately had to flee, or the UK, which embraced them. The script blew me away.
It feels like an interesting companion piece to Da 5 Bloods, Spike Lee’s movie...
You’re right in some sense, because of the effect the American War has on this generation that have come after it. Kit’s journey revolves around past, future and present. You have Parker Sawyers’ character, whose father was an American vet. He’s in Vietnam sort of trying to make amends for the atrocities of war. You’ve got the present of Kit trying to find his identity so he can move forward.
Your CV is eclectic, highend and... short. Are there moments where you wake up and think, “How did this happen?”?
Oh, of course. It was always kind of a dream. Like a dream dream. Not a dream that you aim for. I never thought it would come to reality. But I think through having sowed that seed, every movie I watched, I was learning and understanding.
Is having been a hairdresser and a TV presenter a good combination for acting?
It really is. As a hairdresser you meet somebody for 45 to 60 minutes and you have to be able to restart. If you didn’t get on with the last client, you can’t bring it over to the next. You have to change your mindset on a constant basis. Mixing that with travel shows and journalism, drawing people out of their shell, it all paved the road to Crazy Rich Asians.
Were there any actors who you idolised?
For sure. Paul Newman was one of those guys that didn’t have to do anything on screen, I could just watch him. Gregory Peck was a case study. On one of my first trips to L.A., meeting with Paul Feig about A Simple Favour, he was like, “I see you as a Gregory Peck and a Cary Grant. That’s what I want you to bring.” And I remember walking around Hollywood and coming across Cary Grant’s star. Of course I took a picture.
You’ve wrapped Snake Eyes. Was that a good experience?
It was insane. I have this phenomenal stunt double, but I do 90/95 per cent of everything you see. Apart from swinging off, like, a car. Nobody does those stunts apart from Tom Cruise. But I had to do endless fight scenes and high-octane sword-work. I feel as though I can do any action movie coming off the back of Snake Eyes, ’cause Snake Eyes pushed me to the limit.
Daniel Craig is about to vacate a role that combines romance and action...
Whatever they’re gonna do, us as fans are gonna enjoy the hell out of it. That’s the most important thing. If I play a little part in that, fantastic. If not, man, another Bond film! Like, keep making them!
That’s a very good answer.
But it’s true! I have two franchises under my belt. So for me the pressure of yearning for something that might never be is kind of relieved. Now I can be excited about it. And, at the end of the day, if you’re not a fan of your movies, why are you in the industry?
MONSOON IS IN CINEMAS AND ON DIGITAL FROM 25 SEPTEMBER