It was around this time last year that actor Henry Golding suddenly became recognized as the next big thing. After years of television hosting work, he landed his first acting gig playing male lead Nick Young in CRAZY RICH ASIANS, and that film becoming a smash hit quickly raised Golding's profile. And just a few weeks later, that fast success was made concrete courtesy of his excellent supporting turn in A SIMPLE FAVOR.
So, what has the actor done in the last 365 days with his rising stardom? The answer is that he’s taken on some tremendously exciting projects — and in this article, we’re going to break them all down, including the massive blockbuster part he just landed this summer.
Monsoon
CRAZY RICH ASIANS is on the record as the first movie in which Henry Golding starred, but we are actually still waiting to see the movie he made that completed post-production two days after the blockbuster's release: writer/director Hong Khaou's MONSOON. In the film, Golding plays Kit, a British-Vietnamese man who returns to Saigon 30 years after his family fled the events of the Vietnam War. While it does not yet have a release date set here in America, it will be coming out on October 5 in the United Kingdom.
Last Christmas
Clearly, director Paul Feig had a great experience working with Henry Golding on A SIMPLE FAVOR, because the filmmaker followed that project by re-teaming with the young actor on the upcoming holiday season release LAST CHRISTMAS. In the movie, Golding plays the romantic lead opposite Emilia Clarke, who stars as a cynical young woman named Kate known for regularly making bad choices. She winds up working at a department store as one of Santa’s elves, and it is through this job that she meets Golding’s Tom, who helps Kate turn her life around. It should be a sweet treat for the end of 2019, with its release set for November 8.
The Gentlemen
Next up we have Henry Golding starring in something completely different: Guy Ritchie’s crime thriller THE GENTLEMEN. The feature has the writer/director returning to his LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS/SNATCH roots (his first original film in over a decade), and the story will center on a British drug lord trying to sell his empire to American buyers. Golding is part of an outstanding ensemble for this one, sharing the film’s runtime with Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Jeremy Strong, Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant and more. It’s not due out until January 24, 2020, but our anticipation is already very high.
Snake Eyes
Lastly, we have the blockbuster role that we hinted at earlier, with Henry Golding set to play his first titular role by starring in SNAKE EYES. Similar to what BUMBLEBEE was to the TRANSFORMERS franchise, this project is a special expansion of the G.I. JOE brand and will see the eponymous black-clad ninja set off on his own solo mission, though the details of exactly what he will be doing remain a well-protected secret. RED director Robert Schwentke has been hired to helm the film, which is currently aiming for an October 16, 2020, release date.
Henry Golding clearly isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and both what he currently has cooking and what he may do in the future are causes for excitement. Stay tuned for further updates, as more filmmakers cast this star in their upcoming projects.
