To be honest, I wasn’t really sure who Godfrey Gao was before this. The only few impressions I have of the Taiwanese-Canadian actor comes from his appearance in Louis Vuitton’s Spring Summer 2011 campaign and from the movie, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.
“Oh this guy, the one who played Magnus Bane, the one with the eyeliner in a Hollywood production,” was all I thought when the invite came for SK-II’s launch event of their new AurActivator Complete Correction Cream. Of course, I knew the 30-year-old as one of the ambassadors for the brand. (I won’t lie, I stock up on 330ml bottles of the “miracle water” when they’re available, and have even tried the men’s version, so I’ve seen his face around the counters.) Gao was going to attend the event and I had asked for a short interview after, and boy, do I have to say, I understand the craze now.
Godfrey Gao for SK-II
He showed up early for the event and stood amongst a crowd of buzzing women (yes, amongst, not away) for a good 20 minutes. Everyone was, obviously, raising their mobile phones up high and snapping multiple photos of the 1.95m tall actor, me included. Gao is after all, seriously good looking, even more so in person.
Throughout all this though, there were only one or two bodyguards in sight (at least from where I was standing) but they did not stop people from getting closer, maybe because everyone kept a comfortable distance. The nearest spectator to him was just slightly more than a metre away – pretty surprising for someone this famous.
Godfrey Gao, Lee Sin Jie and Belinda Lee at the SK-II event
On-stage, gorgeous Gao is what everyone expects him to be – eloquent and cool, even in the way he gestures with his hands, though a little less “chatty” than I expected. Still, there are no airs to this basketball enthusiast. Just watch him speak about his wishes for this 2015.
I later discovered that the “chatty” Gao I expected was feeling unwell, when us journos got a chance to interview him after the event. Some said they saw a whole bag of medicine beside the actor, and just before my interview, I overheard one of his handlers asking for a tissue because the actor was feeling a little nauseous.
Despite having to go through about 10 interviews in that condition, Gao was very easy to speak to, even poking fun at his then-nasal voice when we asked for a microphone check. You'd expect someone this good looking to be very intimidating to look in the eye, but with how humble and soft-spoken he was, it was far from that.
His skin up close is also one to talk about – smooth, radiant and wrinkle-free, it’s hard to believe that this 30-year-old travels around so often. (Even his beard shines!)
Of course, an interview with a celebrity doesn’t happen without proof of a picture, and Gao agreed to take one with us.
Thanks for bringing yourself to our height, Godfrey.
That, ladies, is what meeting Godfrey Gao is like. If you’re reading this Godfrey, you’ve got yourself a new fan.
Stay tuned to HerworldPLUS for our interview with Godfrey Gao. He shares, among other things, which part of the face attracts him the most and his beauty secrets.
You can find out more about Godfrey Gao on his website, godfreygao.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.