Simu Liu lost Crazy Rich Asians role because he's not 'white-passing'? Netizens defend Henry Golding as truly Southeast Asian

Asian Canadian actor Simu Liu has unwittingly stepped on a landmine and sparked a Twitter war when he shared how he'd auditioned four times for roles in Crazy Rich Asians but failed to nab a part in the hit 2018 film.

Describing how he was told he didn't have the 'It-factor', Simu shared in the podcast interview How to Fail with Elizabeth Day: "I didn't have that thing that made people want to watch it."

[embed]https://twitter.com/IndieWire/status/1527069019492085760?[/embed]

The role of the lead Singaporean character Nick Young, as we all know, went to Malaysian-British actor Henry Golding, whose mother is from the Iban tribe in Sarawak.

And even though Simu shared he had also auditioned for other parts in the film — including that of Nick's best friend Colin (played by Chris Pang) and cousin Astrid's husband Michael (a role which went to Singaporean actor Pierre Png) — the conversation somehow turned to how Henry was cast because of how he looks. 

Replies to a tweet by Indiewire on Simu's interview stirred up accusations that Hollywood execs chose Henry simply because he was "white-passing" — meaning he's able to pass off as Caucasian — in an industry often accused of being racially biased. 

[embed]https://twitter.com/thotscholar/status/1527451529841631243?[/embed]

[embed]https://twitter.com/ernamh/status/1527885314874036224[/embed]

Wrote one Twitter user: "Just say that Simu Liu is too Asian for you with your f****** chest, stop hiding it in euphemisms".

Others also highlighted how Henry possessed "conventionally attractive" looks by Western standards, plus, he "has the British accent".

[embed]https://twitter.com/HipsterMoody/status/1527395380232601602[/embed]

Another Twitter user suggested that Simu, being ethnically Chinese, would have made "a lot more sense" in the role "than a half-white one".

"What does a Malaysian/British actor know about Singapore?" wrote one netizen.

[embed]https://twitter.com/justlikeDW/status/1528035309656543233?[/embed]

Her tweet ignited a flurry of comments and temporarily united Malaysians and Singaporeans who schooled the user on the countries' shared history and common cultural background.

[embed]https://twitter.com/ceticets/status/1528202654530228225[/embed]

Malaysians have also defended Henry's Asian-ness in terms of looks and pointed out the ways in which the half-Malaysian actor was a better fit for the role.

"To me, he looks like almost every Dayak [indigenous people of Borneo] out here," shared one.

[embed]https://twitter.com/cyrildason/status/1527806022475468801?s=20&t=jUyc7o2wWlkioPQVJpa3AQ[/embed]

[embed]https://twitter.com/voguearayoo/status/1527780673875955713?[/embed]

[embed]https://twitter.com/Superhe16858734/status/1527801213215207424[/embed]

Not to mention that Henry is part Southeast Asian, unlike Simu, and has worked in Malaysia and Singapore as an adult. 

[embed]https://twitter.com/PineApple222_/status/1528023553529896961[/embed]

Another reason why Henry fit the bill? His English accent would have been in line with how 'atas' (high-class) Malaysians and Singaporeans often send their kids overseas for university.

[embed]https://twitter.com/Amelk00441301/status/1528382411687743494[/embed]

The criticisms of Henry not being Asian enough aren't new, as the 35-year-old actor himself has acknowledged in previous interviews.

But Simu has admitted that he's grateful for the rejection, sharing that it changed the way he approached his work.

The 33-year-old eventually landed the lead role Shang-Chi in Marvel's 2021 superhero movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

ALSO READ: Crazy Rich Asians spin-off focusing on Gemma Chan in the works

candicecai@asiaone.com