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Jessica Henwick

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Jessica Henwick
Henwick at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con
Born
Jessica Yu-Li Henwick

(1992-08-30) 30 August 1992 (age 32)
Surrey, England, UK
Occupations
  • Actress
  • writer
  • director
Years active2009–present

Jessica Yu-Li Henwick (born 30 August 1992) is a BAFTA nominated English actress, writer and director. She is known for her roles as Nymeria Sand in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2015–2017), X-wing pilot Jessika Pava in the film Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Colleen Wing in the Marvel Television series Iron Fist (2017–2018), and Bugs in the film The Matrix Resurrections (2021).

Early life

Henwick was born and raised in Surrey, England, the daughter of a Singaporean-Chinese mother of Teochew descent and an English father.[1][2][3] Her father, Mark, is an author. She has two brothers, one older and one younger than her.[3] She trained briefly at Redroofs Theatre School[4] and the National Youth Theatre.[5]

Career

In June 2009, it was announced that Henwick had been cast in the lead role of Bo for the BBC show Spirit Warriors,[6] making her the first actress of East Asian descent to play the lead role in a British television series.[7][8][9][10]

In early 2013, Henwick made her professional theatre debut in the international premiere of Running on the Cracks, based on the book by Julia Donaldson. Allan Radcliffe of The Times praised her "excellent" and "understated" performance, while the Guardian wrote, "with tremendous physical presence, Henwick captures the sense of adolescent righteousness, passion and confusion of a girl trying to create order in an unfair universe."[11] Theatre critic Joyce McMillan wrote that Henwick was "outstanding as Leo".[12]

Later that year she was cast as Jane Jeong Trenka in the drama Obsession: Dark Desires, which aired January 2014. The adaptation details Trenka's stalking in Minnesota, 1991, which she details in her book The Language of Blood.[13] Henwick also joined the cast of Silk as new barrister pupil Amy. The series brought in an average of 5 million viewers per episode.[14] She reprised her role for the spin-off radio series Silk: The Clerks' Room.[15]

In 2015, Henwick joined the cast of the HBO series Game of Thrones in Season 5 as Nymeria Sand. She continued performing the role until Season 7.[16]

Henwick originally auditioned for the role of Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens before losing out to Daisy Ridley for the role.[17] Not getting the role of Rey was "very hard" after a "very long, very arduous" audition process according to Henwick.[18] Nevertheless, she still had a role in the film as the X-wing pilot Jess Pava. The character's full name is established as Jessika "Testor" Pava in the spin-off novel The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure.[19][20] Despite her limited screen time, the character of Pava has become a fan favorite.[21] Pava later appeared as a supporting character in the comic book series Star Wars: Poe Dameron, which ran from 2016 to 2018, and reprised the role for the Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga game.

In 2017, Henwick appeared as Colleen Wing in the Netflix television series Iron Fist. Although critical reception of Iron Fist was generally negative, Henwick's performance in the series was well received.[22] She reprised the role for the series The Defenders, as well as the second season of Luke Cage.[23]

At the end of 2017, Henwick was listed as one of Variety's Top Breakout Stars.[24] In 2020, she co-starred in the Fox science fiction thriller Underwater,[25] and the films Love and Monsters and Sofia Coppola's On the Rocks.[26] That same year she was listed as one of The Hollywood Reporter's Rising Stars[27] and won the Brit to Watch award at the Newport Beach Film Festival.[28]

In 2021, she starred in The Matrix Resurrections. IGN called Henwick the "best part of Resurrections",[29] while Deadline Hollywood said she was "what makes the movie worth watching".[30] She was nominated and won Best Supporting Actress on the Gold list Honors for the most outstanding Asian achievements in the film industry.[31]

In 2022, Henwick was in two of the most highly viewed Netflix films of all time, The Gray Man and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.[32]

Writing

In 2020, it was announced Amazon had picked up Nancy Wu Done It, a young adult series that Henwick co-wrote.[33] She also has a miniseries in development with Emu Films.[34]

In 2022 Henwick wrote an episode for the animated series Moley.[35] Henwick also won the Mary Pickford prize for female filmmaker, for the Xiaomi short film ‘Bus Girl’ that she wrote, starred in and directed.[36] The short was nominated for the BAFTA awards in 2023.[37]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2009 St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold Globe Girl Uncredited
2014 Dr Liebenstein Rachel
2015 Dragonfly Paula Reid
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Jessika "Testor" Pava
2016 The Head Hunter Aiko Koo
2017 Newness Joanne
Rice on White Elena
2018 Yo! My Saint Muse with Kenzo
2020 Underwater Emily Haversham
On the Rocks Fiona Saunders
Love and Monsters Aimee
2021 The Matrix Resurrections Bugs
2022 The Gray Man Suzanne Brewer [38]
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Peg [39]
2023 Cuckoo Post-production
The Royal Hotel Liv Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2010 Spirit Warriors Bo Main role; 10 episodes
2012 The Thick of It Charlotte Episode: #4.1
2014 Obsession: Dark Desires Jane Jeong Trenka Episode: "Silent Scream"
Silk Amy Lang Main role; 5 episodes
Lewis Chloe Ilson Guest role; 2 episodes
Balsa Wood Scotty
2015–2017 Game of Thrones Nymeria Sand Recurring role; 8 episodes
2017 Fortitude Bianca Mankyo Episode: #2.1
2017–2018 Iron Fist Colleen Wing Main role; 23 episodes
2017 The Defenders Main role; 6 episodes
2018 Luke Cage Episode: "Wig Out"
2020– Blood of Zeus Alexia Voice; Main Role [40]
2021– Moley[41] Dotty Voice; Main role; also writer
2021–2022 Blade Runner: Black Lotus[42] Elle Voice; Main role
2022 Twilight of the Gods Sandraudiga Post production

Video games

Year Title Voice Role Notes
2015–2016 Dreamfall Chapters: The Longest Journey Enu
Hanna Roth
2022 Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Jessika "Testor" Pava

Stage

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Running on the Cracks Leo National tour

Radio

Year Title Role Notes
2011–2012 North by Northamptonshire Helen BBC Radio Four
2013 Monday to Friday Julie BBC Radio Scotland
2014–2015 Silk: The Clerks Room Amy Lang Seasons 1 & 2
2020 Harrow Lake Narrator
The Long Way Home Narrator
2021 Hold Still Vincent Faye

Short film

Year Title Role Notes
2016 The Heart of the Forest Akira Also writer
2019 Baliko Mara Also writer
2022 Xiaomi's Bus Girl[43] June Also director; Post-production
TBA Xiaomi's Sandwich Man

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2016 Accolade Competition Award of Excellence (shared: Lourdes Faberes + Giles Alderson) The Heart of the Forest Won [44][45]
2017 Asians on Film Festival Best Original Script (shared with Lourdes Faberes) Won [44][46]
Best Ensemble Cast (shared) Nominated [44][46]
Variety Top Breakout Star Iron Fist Won [24]
2020 Newport Beach Film Festival Festival Honors Award - Brit to Watch Underwater Won [44][28][47]
The Hollywood Reporter The Hollywood Reporter Rising Young Star Film/TV career so far Won [27]
2021 Gold List Honors Best Supporting Actress The Matrix Resurrections Won [44][31]
2022 Birmingham Film Festival Audience Award Xiaomi's Bus Girl Won [44]
Coronado Island Film Festival Narrative Shorts Won
Mary Pickford Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Female Director Won
Satellite Awards Best Ensemble Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Won [48]
Hollywood Critics Association Nominated [48]
Critics' Choice Movie Awards Won [48]
2023 British Academy Film Awards Best British Short Film Bus Girl Nominated [37]

References

  1. ^ "Where exactly are my British Chinese role models?". New Statesman. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  2. ^ "Jessica Henwick is the new face in Game of Thrones". The Star. 11 April 2015. Archived from the original on 13 April 2015.
  3. ^ a b Yee, Yip Wai (7 May 2015). "Game of Thrones newbie Jessica Henwick on her Singapore roots". The Straits Times. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Jessica Henwick talks making it, diversity and Nicolas Cage". AP NEWS. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Silk - Amy Lang". BBC. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  6. ^ "Bo and the Spirit World casting news". ScreenTerrier. 3 June 2009. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  7. ^ LaCava, Stephanie (14 February 2017). "Jessica Henwick". Interview. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  8. ^ "Jessica Henwick: The Hapa Franchise Queen on Growing up Between Two Cultures".[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ Goldman, Justin (15 December 2021). "'The Matrix Resurrections' Star Jessica Henwick Finally Breaks Through". Hemispheres. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  10. ^ Thomas, Shane (30 September 2013). "Actors of Colour". Media Diversified. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  11. ^ Mark Fisher (18 February 2013). "Running on the Cracks – review | Stage". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  12. ^ McMillan, Joyce (8 February 2013). "Theatre review: Running On The Cracks, Tron, Glasgow". The Scotsman. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  13. ^ "Shows". Crime and Investigation. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  14. ^ Dowell, Ben (20 March 2014). "Will Silk get a fourth series?". Radio Times. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  15. ^ "TV drama Silk in radio spin-off". BBC News. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  16. ^ Hibberd, James (23 July 2017). "'Game of Thrones': Sand Snake Actress on That Brutal Episode ending". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  17. ^ Jones, Damian (9 November 2020). "'Star Wars': Jessica Henwick admits it was "very hard" losing Rey role to Daisy Ridley". NME. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  18. ^ Harrison, Ellie (10 November 2020). "Star Wars: Jessica Henwick says it was 'very hard' losing Rey role to Daisy Ridley after 'arduous' six-month audition process". The Independent. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  19. ^ "Meet Star Wars: The Force Awakens' new female hotshot pilot!". Making Star Wars. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  20. ^ "New TV spot reveals Jessika Pava and Nien Nunb in Star Wars: The Force Awakens!". Making Star Wars. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  21. ^ Erickson, Christine (13 March 2016). "'Star Wars' fandom is in love with Jessika Pava, the female X-wing pilot from 'The Force Awakens'". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  22. ^ Patten, Dominic (8 March 2017). "'Iron Fist' Review: Jessica Henwick & Rosario Dawson Are Real Muscle In Marvel Series". Deadline. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  23. ^ Hibberd, James (1 April 2016). "Marvel's Iron Fist casts The Force Awakens actress in lead role". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  24. ^ a b Otterson, Joe (18 December 2017). "Top Breakout TV Stars of 2017". Variety. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  25. ^ McNary, Dave (7 March 2017). "T.J. Miller, Jessica Henwick Join Kristen Stewart in Thriller 'Underwater' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  26. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (5 June 2019). "'Game Of Thrones' Jessica Henwick Joins Sofia Coppola's 'On The Rocks'". Deadline. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  27. ^ a b Sandberg, Bryn; Galuppo, Mia (18 November 2020). "Next Gen Talent 2020: The Hollywood Reporter's Rising Young Stars Revealed". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  28. ^ a b Lyus, Jon (30 January 2020). "Newport Beach Film Festival Red Carpet Interviews - Asa Butterfield, Alice Eve, Richard E. Grant, Gugu Mbatha-Raw & many more". HeyUGuys. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  29. ^ Emberwing, Amelia (21 December 2021). "The Matrix Resurrections Review". IGN. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  30. ^ "'The Matrix Resurrections' Review: Follow-Up to 'The Matrix Revolutions'". deadline.com. 21 December 2021.
  31. ^ a b Del Rosario, Alexandra (18 January 2022). "Tony Leung, Gemma Chan & 'Flee' Among Gold House & CAPE 2022 Gold List Honorees". Deadline. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  32. ^ Bell, BreAnna (3 January 2023). "'Glass Onion' Becomes Netflix's Third Most Watched Film in 10-Day Period". Variety. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  33. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (23 June 2020). "Amazon Sets Mystery-Comedy 'Nancy Wu Done It' From Kai Yu Wu And Jessica Henwick". Deadline. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  34. ^ Lola, Lauren (16 September 2020). "Jessica Henwick: The Hapa Franchise Queen on Growing Up Between Two Cultures". Mixed Asian Media. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  35. ^ "Jessica Henwick". IMDb. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  36. ^ Festival, Coronado Island Film. "The 2022 Coronado Island Film Festival announces Filmmaker Awards and $20,000 in cash prizes". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  37. ^ a b "Longlists, 2022 EE British Academy Film Awards". 16 December 2021.
  38. ^ Adams, Bridie (10 July 2022). "Glass Onion's Jessica Henwick is asking for what she wants in her roles". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  39. ^ Geisinger, Gabriella (25 November 2022). "Game of Thrones star Jessica Henwick teases her villain in Netflix's The Gray Man". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  40. ^ Evans, Greg (12 March 2019). "Netflix Orders 'Gods & Heroes' Greek Mythology Anime Series". Deadline. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  41. ^ "Moley premieres on Boomerang on Oct 4". Advanced Television. 26 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  42. ^ Mateo, Alex (7 July 2021). "Blade Runner: Black Lotus Anime Reveals English/Japanese Casts". Anime News Network. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  43. ^ King, Jack (3 December 2021). "Jessica Henwick Revealed Her New Short Film Was Shot Entirely on Smartphones". Collider. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  44. ^ a b c d e f "Jessica Henwick Awards". imdb.com (Index source only). Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  45. ^ "Winners November 2016 |".
  46. ^ a b "Asians on Film Festival of Shorts 2017 Award Nominees". Asians On Film. 22 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  47. ^ "NBFF 2020 UK Honours". newportbeachfilmfest.com. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  48. ^ a b c "SAG Ensemble head-scratcher: 'Glass Onion' could shake up important precursor race". goldderby.com. 23 December 2022.
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