Before the premiere of his first big film, the dreamy leading man of Crazy Rich Asians, Henry Golding, did something that probably no other actor would do before the red carpet — He did his mum's hair.
He posted a picture of the styling session, showing off his skill with a round hair brush and hairdryer, on his Instagram yesterday with the caption, "Had the biggest night of my life coming up for the premiere...But first, mum needed a quick blowout for the red carpet."
Golding's wife Liv Lo (sorry, he's taken) also posted about this pre-premiere prep on her Instagram story, writing, "Henry's still got his hairstyling skills."
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What's that "still" doing in there? Well, before playing Nick Young, the hunky historian who sweeps Rachel Chu (played by Constance Wu) off her feet in Crazy Rich Asians, Golding was a professional hairstylist.
Golding started his career sweeping up hair at a barbershop in London when he was just 14 years old. After working Saturdays at the shop, he decided to take his profession more seriously. At 16, he left school for an apprenticeship at Richard Ward Hair & Metrospa in London.
“I went into an apprenticeship, starting off as a shampoo boy ― just through the trenches,” he told the Huffington Post.
The salon, which is a prestigious salon Kate Middleton was once known to frequent, was a springboard that allowed him to go from shampooing to a full-blown hairstylist with his own list of clients.
But when he turned 21, he had a sudden urge to change his career path entirely. In 2008, he moved back to where he was born — Malaysia — with one goal: Get on TV. He started in regional TV, then went on to host sports shows, and finally landed as host and presenter for a variety of BBC and Discovery Channel travel shows.
"Your current existence is just a mindset, I found that what it took was something so simple as introducing yourself as who you wanted to be," he told Unreserved in May. "So for me, it was saying, 'Hey, my name’s Henry I’m a television host,' rather than, ‘Hey there I’m a hairdresser.' Try it, you will be surprised at what opportunities arise with something so simple."
Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu told Vulture that he was looking for a man with "JFK Jr." appeal to front the film adaptation of the best-selling trilogy by Kevin Kwan. He needed someone that was both relatable and aspirational for the role of Nick.
Even though he had never acted in a film before, Golding had exactly that, perhaps thanks to his years sweeping up hair.