Persuasion Director Praises Henry Golding's 'Brilliant' Performance as 'Regency FBoy' Mr. Elliot

Nick Wall/Netflix

Henry Golding is done playing Mr. Nice Guy in his latest role.

The actor, 35, said he "could just have fun" with portraying William Elliot in Netflix's adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion as he explained his process for embodying the character in an interview with Town & Country.

"It's really about staying true to our script and coming to the table with a point of view about how Elliot should be when there have already been so many different iterations. For me, that made it easier to really enjoy playing such a colorful character on the screen," Golding said.

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Persuasion director Carrie Cracknell shed some light on Golding's "brilliant" point of view on the character, which ultimately convinced her to cast the Crazy Rich Asians actor.

"It just seemed to me that Henry had this incredible combination of charisma, intelligence, confidence, and wit, which felt like such a fresh thing for a Jane Austen story," she recalled. "I had this brilliant conversation with him, and he was excited about the possibility of playing Mr. Elliot.

Nick Wall/Netflix

"He described the character as a 'Regency f—boy,' which I completely loved. There was also something about Henry's confidence and the sharpness of his wit that felt like he could make Mr. Elliot a real contender," Cracknell, 42, continued.

Golding stars alongside Dakota Johnson and Cosmo Jarvis in Cracknell's Persuasion, a feature adaptation of Austen's last completed novel, which was published in 1817. The film also stars Suki Waterhouse, Richard E. Grant and Nikki Amuka-Bird.

The Malaysian-born star raved about getting to play the blunt opportunist Mr. Elliot, who isn't shy about his attempts to seduce his distant cousin Anne (Johnson) and his intentions to inherit the family fortune.

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"I think he's far less complicated than we would imagine he is," Golding explained. "He's one of those people who knows what he wants and is going to mold the universe to his will. Within the story, he has his goal and he'll do anything to get it—or to get into the pants of his perspective target. For me, it was a joy to know that as much as the character goes through, he's not going to end up with lady. I could just have fun with that."

Persuasion is now streaming on Netflix.