Henry Golding Thought Matthew McConaughey Hated Him on Set of New Movie: 'My World Imploded'
Matthew McConaughey doesn’t break character on set — and Henry Golding found that out the hard way.
The Crazy Rich Asians star, 32, stopped by the Tonight Show on Thursday where he talked about being disappointed in his first initial meeting with the Oscar winner on the set of their upcoming movie The Gentlemen.
At first, Golding was really hoping they would be instant friends.
“I remember going in on my first day and I was thinking, ‘I’m going to be best friends with Matthew McConaughey. We’re gonna go for Sunday walks in the park, we’re gonna go for dinner, our wives will be best buddies, I’m gonna go for yogurt with him on Saturdays,’ ” Golding said.
But when Golding introduced himself, the typically easy-going McConaughey, 50, was anything but friendly.
“He just looks at me with this killer stare and he’s like, ‘I’m McConaughey,’ ” Golding recalled.
Luckily for Golding, there was an explanation for McConaughey’s behavior. Since the two play major adversaries in the movie, in the Guy Ritchie-directed movie, McConaughey was simply staying in character before they were set to film.
“No one told me that he stays in character and our characters hate each other, so I thought he hated me and my world just imploded,” Golding said.
Thankfully, Golding said McConaughey “was the most loving and giving person” whenever they didn’t have scenes together.
But this isn’t the first time McConaughey has psyched one of his costars out on set. Back in January, Anne Hathaway told PEOPLE all about the time she thought her close pal was mad at her when they started filming their thriller Serenity.
“We go out the night before [filming began]. Camila, his wife, is a great pal of mine, and we’re all having a great time,” Hathaway recalled. “So I show up to set, I’m like, ‘Hey, buddy!’ And I got a [serious] ‘Hello.’ I’m like, ‘We got kind of drunk, did I say something? Okay, just give him some space.’ Day two: ‘Hey, Matthew!’ ‘Hello.’ I’m like, ‘Should I call Camila?’ “
After that, Hathaway couldn’t help herself and asked McConaughey if something was wrong, only to find out how deeply his commitment to his character went.
“Day three I said, ‘Is it me, or is it process?’ He goes, ‘It’s process,’ ” she says. “We would hang out on weekends, get the kids together, barbecue, have a great time. But on-set he was [his character] Baker Dill, and he was pissed at me.”
