The wild ascent of 'Crazy Rich Asians' star Henry Golding

Henry Golding was working as a travel show host in Singapore when news broke that "Crazy Rich Asians" was going to be a movie. The city, he remembers, was abuzz about a major Hollywood production coming to Southeast Asia.

"I thought, 'Wow that's going to be amazing...for someone else,'" Golding, 31, said recently. "I was so excited for someone else, it was weird."

Even with his chiseled good looks, undeniable charisma, acting ambitions and comfort in front of a camera after nearly a decade of hosting shows for ESPN Asia, BBC and Discovery Channel Asia, he never imagined that he would ultimately end up being in, let alone co-leading the film — his first ever — as the debonair, Oxford-educated heir Nick Young.

In this Aug 4, 2018 photo, actor Henry Golding poses for a portrait at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. to promote his film "Crazy Rich Asians." (Photo by Rebecca CabageInvisionAP)

"I knew I wanted to be an actor I just figured they wouldn't want to take a chance when there are so many amazing actors and all these super handsome male models in China who would translate to acting I'm sure," Golding said. "And I was like, 'Man, they're going to get it and I'm happy for them. But it's not me.'"

Crazier yet is how Golding got in the running. A studio accountant working in Malaysia had met Golding years ago at a party. He had made enough of an impression on her that she suggested him to a line producer, who then recommended him to director Jon M. Chu, who was nearing the start of production and running out of time to find his Nick.

Chu was intrigued after a deep dive into Golding's online presence (Instagram, YouTube, the works). He had the look, the right accent and a star quality worthy of a major studio production. The only problem? Golding wasn't picking up his calls. Undeterred, Chu realized they had a friend in common on Facebook, the venture capitalist Steve Jang who got hold of Golding on vacation in Tokyo and told him to make time for a Skype call with Chu.

In this Aug 4, 2018 photo, actor Henry Golding poses for a portrait at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. to promote his film "Crazy Rich Asians." (Photo by Rebecca CabageInvisionAP)

"I thought maybe it's a cameo, maybe it's a side character," Golding said. "We get on Skype and he's like, 'I want you for Nick.'"

Producer Nina Jacobson knew they'd found the perfect heartthrob to lead this modern-day fairy tale.

"You could really understand him in both worlds: A guy you could go have a game of pickup basketball with but also a guy who could walk into his family's estate and be expected to be the heir apparent and be as at home in either," Jacobson said. "Henry naturally had those qualities ... He has an inner confidence and a sweetness and a humility that really spoke to the character."

In this Aug 4, 2018 photo, actor Henry Golding poses for a portrait at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. to promote his film "Crazy Rich Asians." (Photo by Rebecca CabageInvisionAP)

On set, although nervous, Golding said the producers and director left him to his own devices.

"I was freaking out a little bit like, 'I don't know if I'm doing it wrong, if I'm doing it right.' I'm like I guess I'll just keep doing what I'm doing," Golding laughed.

And he must have been doing something right, because Golding didn't even get a chance to pause before he was fielding a call from another Hollywood director, Paul Feig, looking to cast him. Feig was hunting man to play opposite Blake Lively in "A Simple Favor," out Sept. 14. He'd become aware of Golding through his wife, Laurie Feig, a "Crazy Rich Asians" fan who encouraged him to take a look at this intriguing newcomer. And right before the "Crazy Rich Asians" press tour swung into high-gear, Golding was in Vietnam shooting another movie, the drama "Monsoon," which is expected to be at film festivals next year.

Suffice it to say, it's been a while since Golding has been home, and he and his wife Liv Lo are adjusting to this new reality — glamorous Vanity Fair shoots, meetings with Anna Wintour, screenings and press junkets across the country.

"Nina Jacobson said, 'I'm paying you 50 percent to do the movie, 50 percent to market the (expletive) out of it,'" Golding said, laughing. "That's the deal."

As Golding charts out his burgeoning career, he's looking back to the classics for inspiration, citing Paul Newman, Cary Grant, Gregory Peck and Clark Gable as models he'd like to emulate.

"There hasn't been that type of leading man coming out of Asia," Golding said. "I want to bring that back."

Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: : www.twitter.com/ldbahr

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States will pull the majority of its troops from Chad and Niger as it works to restore key agreements governing what role there might be there for the American military and its counterterrorism operations, the Pentagon said Thursday.

Both African countries have been integral to the U.S. military’s efforts to counter violent extremist organizations across the Sahel region, but Niger’s ruling junta ended an agreement last month that allows U.S. troops to operate in the West African country. In recent days, neighboring Chad also has questioned whether an existing agreement covered the U.S. troops operating there.

The U.S. will relocate most of the approximately 100 forces it has deployed in Chad for now, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday at a press briefing.

“As talks continue with Chadian officials, U.S. AFRICOM is currently planning to reposition some U.S. military forces from Chad, some portions of which were already scheduled to depart. This is a temporary step as part of the ongoing review of our security cooperation, which will resume after Chad’s May 6th presidential election," Ryder said.

In Niger, the majority of the 1,000 U.S. personnel assigned there also are expected to depart, Ryder said.

U.S. and Nigerien officials were expected to meet Thursday in Niger's capital, Niamey, “to initiate discussions on an orderly and responsible withdrawal of U.S. forces," the State Department said in a statement late Wednesday. Follow-up meetings between senior Pentagon and Niger officials are expected next week “to coordinate the withdrawal process in a transparent manner and with mutual respect,” Ryder said.

Called status-of-forces agreements, these deals allow the U.S. to conduct critical counterterrorism operations within both countries' borders and have supported military partner training. The reversals have prompted concern that U.S. influence in Africa is losing ground to overtures from Russia and China.

Relations have frayed between Niger and Western countries since mutinous soldiers ousted the country’s democratically elected president in July. Niger’s junta has since told French forces to leave and turned instead to Russia for security.

Earlier this month, Russian military trainers arrived to reinforce the country’s air defenses and they brought Russian equipment, which they would train Nigeriens to use.

Niger plays a central role in the U.S. military’s operations in Africa’s Sahel region, a vast region south of the Sahara Desert. Washington is concerned about the spread of jihadi violence where local groups have pledged allegiance to al-Qaida and the Islamic State groups.

Niger is home to a major U.S. air base in the city of Agadez, about 920 kilometers (550 miles) from the capital, which is used for manned and unmanned surveillance flights and other operations. The U.S. also has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in training Niger’s military since beginning operations there in 2013.

Officials from the State Department, U.S. Africa Command and the Pentagon will work with Chad’s government to make the case for U.S. forces to continue operations, Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Adm. Christopher Grady said Wednesday.

Grady told The Associated Press in an interview that if both countries ultimately decide the U.S. cannot remain, the military will have to look for alternatives to run counterterrorism missions across the Sahel.

“If we are asked to leave, and after negotiations that’s the way it plays out, then we are going to have to recalculate and figure out a new way to do it,” Grady said.

The news of the departure of U.S. forces in Chad was first reported by The New York Times.

FILE - Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Adm. Christopher Grady, right, arrives for a closed door briefing about the leaked highly classified military documents, on Capitol Hill, April 19, 2023, in Washington. Grady says there's been no final decision on whether or not all U.S. troops will leave Niger and Chad. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

US to pull troops from Chad and Niger as the African nations question its counterterrorism role

US to pull troops from Chad and Niger as the African nations question its counterterrorism role

FILE - A U.S. and Niger flag are raised side by side at the base camp for air forces and other personnel supporting the construction of Niger Air Base 201 in Agadez, Niger, April 16, 2018. The United States is attempting to create a new military agreement with Niger that would allow it to remain in the country, weeks after the junta said its presence was no longer justified, two Western officials told The Associated Press Friday April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Carley Petesch, File)