HENRY GOLDING
FROM TV TRAVEL HOST TO BLOCKBUSTER ACTION STAR
By Kirsten Howard
Snake Eyes marks the next big stage of Henry Golding’s meteoric rise to stardom.
Before he became a Hollywood leading man, 34-year-old Golding was a familiar face to travel documentary fans.
He has been an enthusiastic presenter and travel host for the BBC and Discovery Channel, trekking through the mountains of Malaysia and beyond.
But in 2018 Golding’s life changed forever when he was cast in the box office smash Crazy Rich Asians alongside Constance Wu.
The director of the film had been struggling to cast the right leading man, as they were looking for a suave and debonair asian actor who could also do a good British accent.
Someone on the Crazy Rich Asians team happened to mention that she’d once seen Golding host an awards show, and he had set everyone’s heart aflutter.
Golding had just been filming a Discovery Channel series called Surviving Borneo for seven weeks, where he had performed an Iban rite of manhood known as “bejalai.”
He was burnt out from the experience so he decided to take the Crazy Rich Asians role and pursue acting for a while.
The film sent Golding’s burgeoning career into the stratosphere almost immediately when it earned over $240 million at the global box office.
That same year, he also joined the cast of Paul Feig’s A Simple Favor.
Golding would work with the director again soon after on the seasonal rom-com Last Christmas.
But the actor would snag his toughest role yet when he signed on for the new G.I. Joe reboot, Snake Eyes.
In Snake Eyes, he plays the titular lone fighter molded by an ancient Japanese ninja clan called the Arashikage.
His loyalties are tested when secrets from his past emerge and put him on the path to becoming the famous G.I. Joe hero Snake Eyes.
Golding had to train hard for the part of Snake Eyes, with the film taking almost two years to complete.
A Snake Eyes sequel is already in development and Golding is set to reprise his main role.