There are a few things you notice about Crazy Rich Asians after you watch it. That it’s an amazing, heartwarming romantic comedy and a huge achievement for Asian representation in cinema are the main takeaways for most. But also – and really, most importantly – it’s full of very, very hot men, most of whom appear shirtless.
Exhibit A.
The biggest hottie is arguably Henry Golding, who plays love interest/billion-dollar heir/dude with abs that just won’t stop, Nick Young. And his appearance in the film is almost entirely thanks to an unsuspecting Malaysian accountant.
Lisa-Kim Kuan, an accountant who was working on pre-production for Crazy Rich Asians back in 2016, spoke to Vulture about how it all came about. It turns out that Kuan had first met Golding while he was MC’ing a corporate event in Malaysia, and had pictured him in the role ever since.
An executive producer and I were working on the Crazy Rich Asians budget. When we got to Nick Young’s part, he mentioned they were having difficulties finding the right guy to play him. I thought of Henry right away!… The executive producer smiled and nodded with approval. He said he would mention it to [Crazy Rich Asians director] Jon Chu. But never in a million years did I think my suggestion would be taken seriously.
Turns out director Jon Chu was equally enamoured by Golding: while the rest of the cast was locked in, Nick Young’s mixture of sophistication and down-to-earth humility, as well as his unique accent, proved hard to cast.
As Herny explained recently to Jimmy Fallon, once Jon Chu located him, he didn’t stop until he signed on as his leading man.
Frankly, I believe Lisa-Kim Kuan deserves all the accolades known to man for her services to humanity. Medal of honour, knighthood, everything.
Lisa-Kim truly is the real MVP.