Fresh off a whirlwind year promoting his role as Nick Young in the critically-acclaimed film, Crazy Rich Asians, actor Henry Golding has no intentions of slowing down any time soon. At last week’s CinemaCon, Golding introduced his two upcoming films, The Gentlemen and Last Christmas. With both projects set to hit theaters at the end of this year, Golding took some time to speak with press in Las Vegas prior to accepting his award for “Male Star of Tomorrow” at the Big Screen Achievement Awards.

On his sudden surge of fame…

“It really has been a trial by fire with me being thrown into the deep end with the best filmmakers possible. I’ve been sort of finding my way, becoming my own person, and my own sort of actor. Each of these projects has helped me grow and I just can’t wait to make more.”

On finding the right roles for himself…

“It’s about finding the material that speaks to you with the filmmaker you trust. I’ve been grateful enough to have that in spades.”

On filming The Gentlemen and Last Christmas at the same time…

“Within a day, I switched from one spectrum of being a young, dangerous, unpredictable gangster to this loveable, sort of aloof leading man in a romantic comedy. It gave me a window into the possibility of what my roles in the future might imply and that is stepping into shoes that are unfamiliar and need to be lived in and experienced.”

On working with Emilia Clarke in Last Christmas

“Emilia is one of the best human beings to be able to share a scene with. She’s so giving and fantastic.”

On diversity in Hollywood…

“Films like Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians have shown that various possibilities of telling very accurate, authentic stories with the actual people these stories about. At the same time, as an actor, I want to go into the realm of being colorblind. I wish Hollywood would do away with trying to fill a quota of people of color…I want to be a leading man whose name isn’t attached to his ethnicity.”

On working with Paul Feig and Guy Ritchie in his next two films…

“These two guys have proven time and time again that they are fantastic filmmakers…I want to be able to build on those relationships. I would work with Guy on any of his projects. I would work with Paul at the drop of a hat.”

On being cast opposite Blake Lively in A Simple Favor

“That casting really comes down to Paul Feig, the filmmaker. He has been the spearhead for a lot of things in cinema and has taken leaps in casting different roles for ethnic sort of actors. For him, it never was a point of what kind of background that actor had to be. It just had to be the person who could stand up between these two amazing actresses…For me, it really was an honor to even be considered.”

About The Author

Madeline Knutson is an Entertainment Journalist and Pop Culture Expert for Blast Magazine.

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