At the start of the year, we talked to Amanda Kohlhofer from ‘The Sip List’ about her Lifelong Crush on Ben Affleck, and that spawned a top 10 dedicated to actors in the same category; leading men who many would likely have on their own lifelong crush list. Fast forward a few months and now we’re back but not with a lifelong crush, although Hayleigh Kurland of ‘Writer’s Bagel Basket’ could classify her Leading Man Crush as such since she fell for him as a kid, but – we’ll get to more about that crush later this week. First, let’s focus on a leading man who I wrote about briefly in the past that deserves a hell of a lot more shine; Henry Golding.
I’d never seen or heard of him until a little movie called ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ was on the verge of release, and being that I came of age during a real RomCom Renaissance in the early 2000s, I was excited for it. Then I saw it and well if it weren’t for ‘Fever Pitch’ and ‘Pretty Woman’ being so ingrained into my heart, ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ would be my #1, but for now it’s sitting solid as my third favorite in the genre dedicated to romance and that is in part due to the handsome Henry Golding.
He was everything you want a romcom lead to have and then some. We’ve obviously established that he checked every box in the looks department. On top of that though, there was this level of charm that felt like if you took the charisma of Matthew McConaughey in 2003 and intertwined that with the undeniable factor of a puppy and encased that in a human, it’d be Henry Golding. By the end of the movie, I was like, yeah…this man is about to be booked and blessed.
We then got to see him take on the lead in a number of other movies. He stayed true to the romcom roots with ‘Last Christmas,’ got adventurous with ‘Snake Eyes,’ and worked alongside the aforementioned McConaughey and director Guy Ritchie in ‘The Gentlemen.’ The latter wasn’t my favorite, but Golding was in the trailer – so I went, and that’s the power of a good leading man. Just their presence makes you go, “Yeah, I’m definitely seeing that.” Golding has another Ritchie film set for 2024, and I’ll probably be seated for that as well.
What I’d love to see for Henry Golding though, and I’m just going to use this as an opportunity to pitch him, is to be in the next chapter of whatever Rian Johnson has cooking for the ‘Knives Out’ franchise he’s got going on. Those movies have a certain look and tone to them that I feel Henry Golding would be perfect for. Plus, he’d look great on the posters and I know looks aren’t everything but those movies lean heavily into the aesthetic, so Rian Johnson…what does one have to do to get this man cast in the next one? Or at least one episode of ‘Poker Face?’ Let a random blogger/podcaster know.
Henry Golding has every factor a leading man should and then some, and that’s not only why he’s one of my leading man crushes, but why he needs to be in more movies. He’s proven that when put in the spotlight, he’s a gem – so let him shine a hell of a lot more! Especially in anything and everything Rian Johnson has going on.
Crushgasm 