Henry Golding had to interrupt his honeymoon to audition for ‘Crazy Rich Asians’.
The 31-year-old actor was in South Africa with his wife Liv Lo when the movie’s director Jon M. Chu called him and begged him to do a final screen test for the role.
Golding said: "I was in South Africa for one day. Jon was like, ‘I have got to pull you, Warner Bros. really wants a screen test and this is the last thing I am ever going to ask you and I promise you this is going to be worth it.’"
And the British-Malaysian actor loved the camaraderie behind the scenes of the movie.
He added: "It being my first movie, I was like, ‘I have a new family and a new best friend? Is this what making movies is like?’ Most people were like ‘No, this is really rare, this is something super special’. The fact that we were Asians from all walks of life, we connected in a way that we have all been through the struggles of identity. We hung out after work and we went beyond wrap times just to get that last shot. We would wait for like an hour for the buffet to open in the hotel, just so we would be able to all eat together. It was such a galvanising experience and we still are a big family."
The movie follows the story of Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) heading to Singapore to attend her boyfriend Nick’s (Golding) friend’s wedding. There, she learns more about her culture and to accept who she is. Golding also admitted he resonates with this as he never felt like he "100 per cent" fit in because he was born in the UK and grew up in Asia.
He told Singapore’s The New Paper: "As a kid, I grew up in the UK, but have lived most of my life since then in Asia, so I can relate to not feeling 100 per cent at home or belonging in either place. I’ve adopted numerous cultures. In Asia, you go there, and you think, ‘I am back to my motherland, fantastic’. And they are like, ‘Do you speak Malay, do you speak Chinese?’ ‘No, I can only speak English’. ‘Oh, you are definitely not Asian’. And so that’s always been a struggle, but I never let it get me down, and I concentrate on my strengths and my passion that has led me to acting and I hope that I am going to have an illustrious long career."
Henry Golding interrupted honeymoon for audition
