Henry Golding

Henry Golding is a young man with enormous potential, his growth in fashion and entertainment has been unprecedented.

Now based in Kuala Lumpur, the 21 year old half English half Malaysian mix has made the leap from working in one of London’s top celebrity hairstylists, Richard Ward Hair and Metro Spa based in Sloane square Chelsea to being a regular face on 8tv’s The Quickie, co-hosting with Belinda Chee, Rina Omar and Phat Fabes.

Henry’s natural charisma and professionalism on screen is definately making him a face to watch out for.

Born in Malaysia, and then adventuring in London, 8TV’s new young host for Quickie tells RADIN SRI GHAZALI what brought his wandering feet back to his country of birth.

HE is the new boy on The 8TV Quickie. With his strong British accent and good looks, Henry Golding is the “it” guy to look out for on the telly nowadays.

“I am half English and half Iban. I was born in Sarawak but we moved to Dungun, Terengganu soon after.”

Henry later went to live in his father’s homeland, England.

“I wasn’t one of those kids who could focus in class. I hated being in a classroom,” said the 21-year-old.
“At 14, I started to work at a barber shop, sweeping up cut hair on the floor and cleaning up the place. I began to develop an interest in hairdressing,” he said.

Taking his career path seriously, he moved to South London at 16 and then found himself working in one of the biggest salons in London, Richard Ward Hair and Metro Spa.

“I was 17 when I got accepted there. I was over the moon. It is a well-known salon,” he said.

Ingrained with a keen sense of adventure, Henry moved to East London to seek more thrills and spills in life.

“East London is known for its hot spots and I was living the life there. I met amazing people and have done crazy things,” he said.

But things changed.

“I was not too pleased with my job there as my bosses were treating me like a 15-year-old. It was a bit depressing and I decided to leave,” he said.

The time was right to leave London and to see the world. And Malaysia was calling out to him.

“I wanted to travel the world, including travel to Malaysia, it was also home for me,” he said.

He packed his bag and bought a one-way ticket to Kuala Lumpur.

“I did not have a back-up plan then. I was confident that I would work something out once I got here,” he said.

Almost clueless in Kuala Lumpur, Henry decided to try his hand in the entertainment industry.

“I was always keen in hosting and acting. I thought, why not? I’ll give it a go,” he said.

Luckily for Henry, his former housemate was an acquaintance of one of the anchors of 8TV’s show The 8TV Quickie, Rina Omar. His resume was passed to Rina.

“I was called for an audition and got the call back a month later,” he said.

Henry was slated to replace Razif Hashim in the show, who was heading to London to pursue his studies. “Such an irony, we swapped countries,” he said.

“It was nerve-wracking. I was on air with Phat Fabes, Rina and Belinda Chee. They were all pros and I felt like a fool,” reminisced Henry. The date 08.08.08 marked his “live” appearance on television.

Now Henry pairs with Belinda on a regular basis.

“Hosting a show feels like talking to friends and to be at ease with the people around you, it is better to stay true to yourself,” Henry said.

Despite sharing the same office (Sri Pentas which is also home to TV3, ntv7 and TV9), with countless celebrities and hosts, Henry still hasn’t met any of them.

“I hardly know anyone outside of Quickie. I am still new to the station and the country.”

Henry does have his favourite faces on telly, though.

“I adore Aishah Sinclair. I think she is absolutely brilliant and beautiful. I also had the opportunity to work with Kui Jien, who was one of the original hosts of Quickie. I find him extremely talented,” he said.

And how is he coping with Malaysia?

“I hardly speak Malay. Every time people communicate with me in Malay, I nod, smile or laugh. But I am not completely hopeless. I do understand basic Malay,” he said.

“I am bad at languages. I learnt French and German in school but failed miserably. I am planning to learn Malay but it looks like I am procrastinating.”

But he added: “I am fortunate enough to get by because most Malaysians speak English,” he said.

Henry believes he is nevertheless a true Malaysian.

“I eat roti canai for breakfast every day! Pretty much Malaysian!” he said, with a laugh.