BRITISH actor, Henry Golding has had quite a long journey leading up to his acting debut.
His first film was the hit movie, Crazy Rich Asians which he starred in as the lead, Nick Young.
The 36-year-old Malaysian-British actor is currently attending the Red Sea International Film Festival and he opened up about his journey to stardom.
He revealed that he started out as a hairstylist and after six years of doing that, he pursued a career in TV.
“My mixed heritage shaped me. My mum is Malaysian and my father is British and growing up, I spent a lot of my time in Malaysia. I moved back to the UK when I was around eight years old and spent time there growing up.
“I started as a hairstylist. When I was 15 I worked in a barbershop. I wasn’t designed to sit in a classroom and learn, so I did an apprenticeship in a salon. I was a hairstylist until I was 22 years old. My wife gets a blow-dry every once in a while. I had this dream of wanting to present TV, so I bought a one-way ticket to Malaysia to try to work there,” he said.
ALSO READ : WATCH: L'vovo opens up about 'being broke'
Henry said he rejected the role he played on Crazy Rich Asians thrice because he did not want to be in the film.
“This movie was about Singapore and I was staying there at the time. When I heard about it, I thought it would be great for other people, but never once did I think I would audition. My manager at the time said she got an email to ask if I would audition and I said ‘absolutely not’. I thought they'd choose someone who has acting experience. This happened three times until a friend of mine told me Jon Chu, the director was looking for me to cast me in his new film.
“The first thing he said when he saw me was: ‘Why haven't you gotten yourself on tape, this is an opportunity of a lifetime' and I was reminded how I wanted to get into film. I eventually did it,” he said.
Henry has just finished wrapping up a film with South African star, Charlize Theron.
“Old Guard 2 was filmed in Rome, Italy which was really hot. Charlize was the perfect lead, not just in the film, but in the production as well. She did her own stunts, she was there on set even when she wasn’t filming.
“I’m also working on two other films titled Tigers Apprentice with Paramount and Daniela Forever,” said Henry.
