Henry Golding tipped to be James Bond – and 4 more Asian actors taking a stand against Hollywood whitewashing

Oct 13 , 2020

The cast of Crazy Rich Asians was a victory for representation in Hollywood, as Asian actors continue to fight against whitewashing on screen. Photo: @crazyrichasians/Instagram

Constance Wu called out Scarlett Johansson’s role in Ghost in the Shell as modern-day ‘blackface’, while Lulu Wang has something to say about American director Ron Howard helming Lang Lang’s biopic

Henry Golding is having a moment. Having displayed his slick charm in Crazy Rich Asians and A Simple Favor, Golding’s camera-hugging charisma has seen the Malaysian-British actor touted as a serious contender to replace Daniel Craig as the next James Bond.

Such a coup would be a landmark for representation in Hollywood – a matter clearly at the forefront of Golding’s thinking. The 33-year-old actor recently showcased his acting chops in Monsoon, playing the role of a gay Asian immigrant. However, he initially hesitated about taking the project because it would likely amount to a straight actor grabbing a lead role intended for a gay actor.

Hollywood has whitewashed Asian stories and misrepresented LGBTQ+ roles for decades. Now, Asian celebrities are leading the discussion against this antiquated casting practice, a step towards dismantling the industry’s colourful history of race-bending, and transforming the business into a more diverse and inclusive environment.

Golding’s strides into the limelight are likely to cause progressive ripples across Hollywood casting culture, especially if he does land the dream role of 007. So which other Asian celebrities have called out whitewashing in the industry?

Lulu Wang

The Farewell director Lulu Wang criticised the choice of Ron Howard to direct a forthcoming biopic of Chinese pianist Lang Lang, questioning whether the American filmmaker has the “intimate understanding” of Chinese history and culture necessary to tell the story about the most famous pianist in the world – and said on Twitter that the industry must learn from Disney’s widely criticised live-action remake of Mulan.

Henry Golding

Being British-Malaysian, Golding received criticism for signing on for Crazy Rich Asians (2018) with critics saying that the lead role should have gone to a fully Asian actor. He addressed the issue in an interview with The View: “I know I’m Asian through and through. There’s nothing I needed to prove.”