Former hairdresser, model and travel show host Henry Golding burst onto the scene with his first major movie role in box office success Crazy Rich Asians, with the 33 year-old’s easygoing charm and natural charisma instantly marking him out as a rising talent to keep an eye on.
The Malaysian-born Englishman then followed it up with a supporting part in Paul Feig’s black comedy crime caper A Simple Favor, acclaimed low budget drama Monsoon, holiday hit Last Christmas and Guy Ritchie’s action thriller The Gentlemen.
Golding only has five feature film credits under his belt, but his track record is undeniably impressive. With the exception of Monsoon, all of them recouped their budgets at least four times over at the box office, and Last Christmas is the only one with a Rotten Tomatoes score lower than 75%. Critical and commercial success has been easy to come by so far, then, but next up is the altogether trickier proposition of G.I. Joe spinoff Snake Eyes.
Every young talent with their sights set on the A-list inevitably signs on to an action movie at some point, but there are valid concerns about the aforementioned film’s chances of becoming Golding’s latest hit. The two previous G.I. Joe efforts were mediocre at best and hardly set the box office alight, so if the latest installment in the franchise underperforms, it could be game over for the elite military force on the big screen.
The leading man has done a great job hyping the project in almost every interview he does, though, so it shouldn’t come as a shock to discover that he’s once again been talking up the tale of brotherhood and loyalty, as well as praising the requisite action sequences.
“What fans can kind of expect from Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins is the origin of Snake Eyes. You see his weaknesses, you see his faults, you see him trying to make amends for decisions that perhaps weren’t as savory as you would imagine. You see a bond between brothers, you see the thrill of creating a team and defeating the hurdles in front of you. And you get to really see some damn cool fight scenes.”
Snake Eyes was pushed back an entire year as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, so we’ll have to wait until next October to see if the movie lives up to the lofty expectations that Golding has for it in his head.
