After winning over hearts — and audiences — as thesweet and dashing Nick Youngin 2018’sCrazy Rich Asians,Henry Goldingwas wary of losing momentum.
“You’re always kind of like, ‘When am I ever going to get another project?'” Golding, 34, who moved to L.A. in 2019 with his wife, Liv Lo, 36, a Taiwanese-Italian fitness entrepreneur, tells PEOPLE in its latest issue.
The star — who was away for months in Vancouver and Japan in late 2019 and early 2020 to shoothis upcoming filmSnake Eyes(out July 23) — didn’t get a chance to settle into his new home until the pandemic forced him to take a career break.
“You can plan and plan and plan until you’re red in the face, but it only takes a pandemic to be like, ‘Nope,’ " he says. “It [made me] understand that you can’t get time back. Sometimes you got to say ‘No’ and make those hard decisions for the better of your personal life — and your soul.”
Acknowledging how difficult the pandemic was for many throughout the world, Golding says he found his silver lining in the precious time he was able to spend with Liv, whogave birth to their daughter, Lyla, on March 31.
“We were able tofocus on family timeand really explore the West coast together and be present for the entire pregnancy journey,” he says. “Money can’t buy that. I’ve realigned what’s important in life.”
Becoming a father has also pushed Golding to think more deeply about the kind of world he hopes to raise his daughter in.
As one of few Asian men landing lead roles on the big screen, he’s also determined to continue breaking barriers in Hollywood.
Henry Golding/Instagram
“It’s really about if the characters are written with justice: Are they three-dimensional? Is there a backstory? Is there a reason why they’re from this certain country or of this certain ethnicity?” says Golding, who plays the titular character inSnake Eyes,a ninja warrior originally written as a white man in Larry Hama’s comic book series. “We don’t want to be the butt of the joke. It’s not funny anymore.”
The actor went through extensive sword and fight training to perform his own stunts in the film, and he’s proud of how authentic the final product is.
“We really put ourselves to the test and spent hours upon hours in the gym with the most talented stunt guys in the business,” he says. “We wanted to give it a sense of groundedness and to kick off an origin story with an immersion into a real world that we physically lived in.”
“Lyla’s already got one country on her little passport. We’ll be collecting them and taking note for her,” says Golding, who’s been in England since May filming Netflix’s upcoming film adaptation ofPersuasion(alongside Dakota Johnson).
After spending some time in the U.K. with Golding, Liv and Lyla returned back home to L.A. — and the new dad is itching to reunite with his family.
“As soon as I finish this [movie], I’m going home. I know that this is the nature of the job, and Liv absolutely understands that as well,” he adds. “There’s no use pining over it because I’m here to work for us, but it doesn’t stop me sort of yearning to be home. I can’t wait until I get back.”
source: people.com
