KUALA LUMPUR: Hunky Malaysian actor Henry Golding may be currently making a big splash in Hollywood but the 31-year-old Sarawakian, who is also a model and TV host, always has Malaysia in his mind.
In an Instagram post yesterday, the steamy actor of Iban and English ancestry wrote: “When @hollywoodreporter asked about who inspired me as a kid growing up, without fail... This man, if you know, you know.”
Accompanying the post was a screen grab of a portion of the online article from The Hollywood Reporter, which featured a photo of the actor and another of iconic Malaysian artiste, the late Tan Sri P. Ramlee.
The corresponding text in the picture read: “The first time growing up seeing myself represented on screen was during my time as a kid in Malaysia. There was one prolific golden age actor by the name of P. Ramlee, he was the Malaysian version of Frank Sinatra/Charlie Chaplin. He sang, acted, directed, wrote and created such memorable stories. Still a hero in Asia to this day.”
Golding’s post, which garnered over 30,100 likes, was also inundated by positive comments from Netizens, including celebs like Puan Sri Tiara Jacquelina who wrote: “Super proud of you @henrygolding.”
The Malaysian talent who is currently in New York, has been busy promoting his big screen Hollywood debut, as the lead character Nick Young, in the rom-com drama Crazy Rich Asians, which premiered recently in the US.
Directed by John M. Chu, the film based on the novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan, opens here on Aug 22.
Crazy Rich Asians also stars other notable Malaysians like Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh and Carmen Soo, as well as Malaysia-born comedian Ronny Chieng.
Golding also has another Hollywood film opening next month, A Simple Favor, in which he co-stars with Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick.
Before achieving his Hollywood success, Golding had hosted a series of TV shows, including the 8TV Quickie, Welcome To The Railworld Japan (8TV), Surviving Borneo (Discovery Channel Asia) and The Travel Show (BBC).