Best known for his role as Nick Young in Crazy Rich Asians and Sean Townsend in Paul Feig’s thriller, A Simple Favor, Henry Golding is back with Last Christmas. The actor plays Tom, a kind-hearted young man who helps the lead character, Kate, played by Emilia Clarke. Directed by Paul Feig and written and produced by Emma Thompson (who also stars), the film, which features the music of George Michael and the Wham! song Last Christmas, plays as a love letter to London, mixing drama with comedy.
Did you enjoy your time working with Emma Thompson?
Oh yes, she is everything you’d hope she would be. She is so motherly and hyper-intelligent. She is very empathetic and tunes in to emotions very well. She can connect to everyone from the grip to the actors to the director and everybody loves her.
Are romantic comedies your thing as a viewer?
Yes, there is always time and space for good romantic comedy, especially when it is properly executed and has a great story. You have to have some cheese in it otherwise it wouldn’t be appropriate for the genre. There has to be some sort of wish fulfilment and a good soundtrack. And some tear-jerking.
Did you give any input for this film at a script level?
Absolutely. I was doing press for Crazy Rich Asians when Emma Thompson came to meet me. Paul [Feig, the director] joined us on a video call. We spoke and I loved the script. But there was something in there I felt strongly about and we agreed to change it. So we came up with a great line that sits very well in a romantic comedy. Being in a team which takes creative advice is amazing.
Your character moves a lot on screen even when he’s playing the straight guy to Emilia’s broader moments. What were you trying to achieve there?
During that same conversation with Emma, I said I’d love to have a movement coach because I felt Tom should have a kind of lightness to him. He is living in the present and has an airiness, a carefree persona, almost reminiscent of a Gene Kelly or a Frank Sinatra bounding his way around, enjoying the environment and not caring what people thought about him.
So I worked with Jennifer White and we came up with some little moves and twirls, and tried to integrate them naturally. We did not want to make it too cheesy, but to have it as a part of his character.This is your second time working with Paul Feig, after A Simple Favor. You clearly enjoy working with him.
Paul is one of my best buddies, mentors and all-round favourite humans. He is more English than most English people. He lives for pomp and traditions. The last time we were in Las Vegas we sat for a four-hour meal just talking together. I would do anything for Paul.
The film shines a light on homelessness, which was an important issue for George Michael…
It highlights the reality. Often the best romantic comedies deal with the best of adversity or the best of love, and here we highlight an issue that London is struggling with. There’s no easy fix for it, but if we are able to make people realise that even at a time as joyful as Christmas, there are still some who don’t have that, and there is maybe something you can do, it gives a stronger patina to the movie.
There are other themes, too, such as inclusivity and the way Kate mends her relationship with her family, to name but two.
Her family comes from Yugoslavia, there are same-sex relationships, multi-ethnic relationships, and this movie normalises those conversations. It teaches you to not be afraid of bringing up your greatest fears. And for Emma’s character that was being ripped away from her home and family. It’s important to touch on those, but to not drown in the sorrow. Movies are for making magic and for making light of situations which aren’t light in reality. At least you can have a positive outlook on them.