Jessica Henwick

1.1. Early life and family

Jessica Yu-Li Henwick was born on August 30, 1992, in Surrey, England. Her family background is notably diverse: her mother is Singaporean-Chinese of Teochew descent and is retired but previously worked in retail, and her father, Mark Henwick, is English, born in Zambia. Mark Henwick is also an author, known for writing the urban fantasy series Bite Back, which he began in 2012. Jessica is the middle child of three, having an older brother and a younger brother.

1.2. Education and training

Henwick attended Collingwood College in Camberley. From a young age, she aspired to be a performer. She received early acting training at Redroofs Theatre School, although she briefly dropped out. She further honed her skills with the National Youth Theatre, where she was tutored by Rikki Beadle-Blair.

2.1. Early career and debut

Henwick's entry into acting began when she discovered a casting call in Chinatown, London, an opportunity her mother encouraged her to pursue. In June 2009, at the age of 16, it was announced that she had been cast in the lead role of Bo in the CBBC series Spirit Warriors. This role was initially intended for a boy, but after Henwick and her mother jokingly suggested her brother, her own acting experience led to her being cast. This made her the first actress of East Asian descent to play a lead role in a British television series. For this role, Henwick underwent extensive training in wushu with martial arts choreographer Jude Poyer. The series received multiple nominations, including a Broadcast Award in 2011.

In early 2013, Henwick made her professional theatre debut in the international premiere of Running on the Cracks, a play based on the book by Julia Donaldson. Her performance as Leo garnered significant critical acclaim; The Guardian praised her "tremendous physical presence" and her ability to capture the "adolescent righteousness, passion and confusion" of her character. Theatre critic Joyce McMillan also highlighted Henwick as "outstanding" in the role.

Later that year, Henwick was cast as Jane Jeong Trenka in the drama Obsession: Dark Desires, which aired in January 2014. The episode detailed Trenka's stalking experience in Minnesota in 1991, as described in her book The Language of Blood. Henwick then joined the cast of Silk as Amy Lang, a new barrister pupil, a role she reprised for the popular radio spin-off series Silk: The Clerks' Room. She also appeared as Chloe Ilson in two episodes of Lewis, a young University of Oxford student.

2.2. Major activities and breakthrough

In 2015, Henwick gained significant international recognition by joining the cast of the HBO series Game of Thrones in Season 5 as Nymeria Sand, one of the Sand Snakes. Her role, which she continued until Season 7, involved extensive action sequences utilizing a bullwhip and spear, requiring six months of specialized training.

Around the same time, Henwick auditioned for the role of Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens but the part ultimately went to Daisy Ridley. Despite this, she was cast in the film as the X-wing pilot Jess Pava, a character who, despite limited screen time and her face not being clearly visible due to the helmet, became a fan favorite. The character's full name, Jessika "Testor" Pava, was revealed in the novel The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure, where she is depicted as an admirer of Luke Skywalker. Pava later appeared as a supporting character in the Star Wars: Poe Dameron comic series. Henwick expressed interest in reprising her role for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but her character was ultimately cut from the film.

In 2017, Henwick took on the role of Colleen Wing in the Netflix television series Iron Fist, part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite the generally negative critical reception of Iron Fist, Henwick's performance as Colleen Wing, a martial artist and ally to the protagonist, was widely praised. Her background in martial arts, developed since her debut, made her well-suited for the action-oriented character. She reprised the role in the crossover miniseries The Defenders and made a guest appearance in the second season of Luke Cage. By the end of 2017, Variety recognized Henwick as one of its Top Breakout Stars.

In 2018, Henwick was cast in Godzilla vs. Kong, though her role, along with Zhang Ziyi's, was ultimately not included in the released theatrical cut of the film.

The year 2020 saw Henwick co-star in the Fox science fiction thriller Underwater, alongside Kristen Stewart and T. J. Miller. She also appeared in Love and Monsters and Sofia Coppola's On the Rocks. That same year, she was listed as one of The Hollywood Reporter-s Rising Stars and received the 'Brit to Watch' award at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

In 2021, Henwick starred as Bugs in The Matrix Resurrections. Her performance garnered significant critical acclaim, with IGN calling her the "best part of Resurrections" and Deadline Hollywood stating she was "what makes the movie worth watching". For her role, she was nominated for and won Best Supporting Actress at the Gold List Honors, which recognizes outstanding Asian achievements in the film industry.

The year 2022 was significant for Henwick, as she appeared in two of Netflix's most highly viewed films: The Gray Man and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. During a break from filming Glass Onion, she directed her short film Bus Girl, which was notably shot entirely on a smartphone. This film was later nominated for a BAFTA award for Best Short Film.

In 2023, Henwick joined the cast of The Royal Hotel, directed by Kitty Green. Her performance in the film was well-received, with The Hollywood Reporter describing her as 'superb'. The film itself achieved an 89% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Looking ahead, Henwick appeared in Cuckoo opposite Hunter Schafer in 2024, a role for which she learned American Sign Language. She also reprised her voice role as Alexia in the second season of the animated series Blood of Zeus and provided the voice for Mum in the animated feature The Land of Sometimes. She is set to appear in the third season of the Apple TV+ series Silo in 2025 and is in post-production for the film Huntington.

2.3. Writing and directing

Beyond her acting career, Jessica Henwick has actively pursued creative endeavors in writing and directing. In 2020, it was announced that Amazon had picked up Nancy Wu Done It, a young adult series that Henwick co-wrote. She also has a miniseries currently in development with Emu Films. In 2022, Henwick contributed as a writer for an episode of the animated series Moley.

Her directorial debut, the short film Bus Girl, which she also wrote and starred in, was filmed entirely on a smartphone during a break from her work on Glass Onion. This film earned her the Mary Pickford prize for female filmmaker at the Coronado Island Film Festival and received a nomination for a BAFTA award for Best Short Film in 2023. Following its success, she wrote and directed a sequel titled Sandwich Man the subsequent year.

3.1. Film

3.2. Television

3.3. Video games

3.4. Stage

3.5. Radio