He may be the star of the summer's highly anticipated hit, but back in high school, Henry Golding was well known for a different reason.
As the 31-year-old Hollywood newcomer recalled for Jimmy Fallonon The Tonight Show Wednesday, Golding didn't land "Most Likely to Succeed" or "Class Clown" in the yearbook. He was named (drumroll please)..."sexual healer."
"We understand why," Fallon quipped, assuring the star he didn't have to go into more detail. But, before anyone could get ahead of themselves, the actor explained it was because of Marvin Gaye's classic song that he got the label.
"It was due to the fact that I used to go around singing 'Sexual Healing' by Marvin Gaye. That was my song—just walking around the sort of the lockers and singing that," he described. "That was my thing."
Naturally, his parents were a bit concerned. "They were like, 'What are you doing at school exactly?'"
Rest assured, mom and dad—it wasn't what you thought.
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Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding told Jimmy Fallon that he "tried not to audition," for the lead role of Nick Young.
In one of the most delightful interviews you'll see for an age, Golding talked to Fallon about the fact that he didn't have a single acting credit to his name before being cast.
"They tracked me down. As much as I tried not to audition for this, they really like, Jon [M. Chu, Crazy Rich Asians director] pretty much sent the hounds on me," he said.
How did they manage to drag Golding into a role in a film that already has 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes? It was all down to one Lisa Kim from accounting.
"They sent about three or four emails asking me to audition and I was like no, no, no, no, no, I'm not an actor. I'm sure there's somebody absolutely amazing, ready for this role, and the studio's not going to gamble on a newbie," he added. Well, they damn well did.
source Warner Bros.
Henry Golding, the star of “Crazy Rich Asians,” never acted before this movie.
An accountant named Lisa Kim, who met him five years ago, recommended Golding to director Jon M. Chu, who was having trouble casting the leading man, Nick Young.
Golding said he resisted auditioning because of his lack of experience, but Chu was very convincing.
“Crazy Rich Asians” star Henry Golding – a travel show host – took the leading role as Nick Young in the $30 million Warner Bros. rom-com without any acting credits to his name.
Golding told Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show” Wednesday the story about how he was cast, which involved an accountant who met him five years ago – and some resistance on his end.
“As much as I tried not to audition for this,” Golding said, “Jon [Chu, “Crazy Rich Asians” director] really sent the hounds on me.”
“There’s this lovely woman in accounting,” Golding said. “Her name’s Lisa Kim. If you’re out there Lisa Kim, I still owe you one. I love you Lisa! She was like, ‘I met this guy about five years ago in Malaysia. I don’t know what he’s doing now, but for me he was this character Nick Young.'”
Chu, who struggled to get the casting for this role right, took the recommendation from Kim. Chu followed Golding on Instagram, and watched his travel videos on YouTube.
“They sent me about three or four emails asking me to audition,” Golding said. “But I was like, ‘no no no no no. I’m not an actor. I’m sure there’s somebody absolutely amazing ready for this role. And the studio’s not going to gamble on a newbie or a greenhorn.'”
But Chu continued to fight for Golding. Through a mutual Facebook friend, Chu arranged a Skype call with Golding to convince him to audition.
“When you meet Jon,” Golding told Fallon, “anyone can tell you: he’s the most convincing human being.” After the Skype call, Golding went through the audition process and chemistry reads with co-star Constance Wu. He said he got pulled out of his honeymoon to complete a screen test (“wife wasn’t happy, still making up for it, but I think she loves me”).
Thursday afternoon, Golding posted a photo on Instagram with Kim, the accountant who recommended him for the movie. Golding said that the image was taken before shooting. “She LOVES hello Kitty and the colour pink,” Golding wrote, “so I scoured the whole of Singapore for the perfect gift … A pink hello kitty coffee mug.”
Wherever you are Lisa Kim, the world thanks you. “Crazy Rich Asians” is in theaters now.
You can watch the entire interview below:
