# Jessica Henwick

Jessica Yu-Li Henwick (/ˈhɛnɪk/ HEN-ik;) is a British actress, writer, and director. She began her career in 2010 and is best known for her roles in Game of Thrones (2015-17), Iron Fist (2017-18), Love and Monsters (2020), Silk (2014), The Defenders (2017), The Matrix Resurrections (2021), The Gray Man (2022), Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022), and The Royal Hotel (2023). Her directorial debut Bus Girl was nominated for a BAFTA.

## Early life and education

Jessica Yu-Li Henwick is from Surrey, the daughter of a Singaporean-Chinese mother of Teochew descent and a Zambian-born English father. Her father, Mark, became an author in 2012 and wrote the urban fantasy series Bite Back. She has two brothers, one older and one younger.
Henwick attended Collingwood College in Camberley. She trained briefly at Redroofs Theatre School before dropping out. She also trained with the National Youth Theatre under the tutelage of Rikki Beadle-Blair.

## Career
### Early career

Henwick happened upon a casting call in Chinatown, London and her mother encouraged her to pursue the opportunity. In June 2009, it was announced Henwick had been cast in the lead role of Bo in the CBBC series Spirit Warriors, making her the first actress of East Asian descent to play the lead role in a British television series.
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. 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." Theatre critic Joyce McMillan wrote that Henwick was "outstanding as Leo".
Later that year, Henwick was cast as Jane Jeong Trenka in the drama Obsession: Dark Desires about Trenka's stalking in Minnesota, 1991, which she details in her book The Language of Blood. Henwick joined the cast of Silk as new barrister pupil Amy. She reprised her role for the spin-off radio series Silk: The Clerks' Room.

### International breakthrough

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. Henwick originally auditioned for the role of Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens before losing out to Daisy Ridley for the role. Nevertheless, she still had a role in the film as the X-wing pilot Jess Pava. The character became a fan favourite.
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. She reprised the role for the series The Defenders, as well as the second season of Luke Cage. At the end of 2017, Henwick was listed as one of Variety's Top Breakout Stars.
In 2018, Henwick was cast in Godzilla vs. Kong, though her part as well as Zhang Ziyi's role did not make the released theatrical cut.
In 2020, Henwick co-starred in the Fox science fiction thriller Underwater, and the films 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 won the Brit to Watch award at the Newport Beach Film Festival. The following year she starred in The Matrix Resurrections. IGN called Henwick the "best part of Resurrections", while Deadline Hollywood said she was "what makes the movie worth watching". She was nominated and won Best Supporting Actress on the Gold list Honors for the most outstanding Asian achievements in the film industry.
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. She directed her short film Bus Girl, shot entirely on a smartphone during a break from filming Glass Onion. It was 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 was well reviewed with The Hollywood Reporter calling her 'superb'. The film received an 89% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
In 2024, Henwick appeared in Cuckoo opposite Hunter Schafer. Her performance required her to learn American Sign Language. That year she also reprised her role in the second season of animated series Blood of Zeus.

### Writing

In 2020, it was announced Amazon had picked up Nancy Wu Done It, a young adult series that Henwick co-wrote. She has a miniseries in development with Emu Films.
In 2022, Henwick wrote an episode for the animated series Moley. Henwick won the Mary Pickford prize for female filmmaker, for the Xiaomi short film ‘Bus Girl’ that she wrote, starred in and directed. The short was nominated for the BAFTA awards in 2023. She wrote and directed the sequel ‘Sandwich Man’ the following year.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2009 | St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold | Globe Girl | Uncredited |
| 2014 | Dr Liebenstein | Rachel | |
| 2015 | Dragonfly | Paula Reid | |
| 2015 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | Jessika "Testor" Pava | |
| 2016 | The Head Hunter | Aiko Koo | |
| 2016 | The Heart of the Forest | Akira | Short film; also writer |
| 2016 | Balsa Wood | Scotty | |
| 2017 | Newness | Joanne | |
| 2017 | Rice on White | Elena | |
| 2018 | Yo! My Saint | Muse | with Kenzo |
| 2019 | Baliko | Mara | Short film; also writer |
| 2020 | Underwater | Emily Haversham | |
| 2020 | On the Rocks | Fiona Saunders | |
| 2020 | Love and Monsters | Aimee | |
| 2021 | The Matrix Resurrections | Bugs | |
| 2022 | The Gray Man | Suzanne Brewer | |
| 2022 | Bus Girl | June | Short film; also director and writer |
| 2022 | Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery | Peg | |
| 2023 | The Royal Hotel | Liv | |
| 2024 | Cuckoo | Beth | |
| 2024 | The Land of Sometimes | Mum (voice) | |
| TBA | Huntington | | Post production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 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" |
| 2014 | Silk | Amy Lang | Main role, 5 episodes |
| 2014 | Lewis | Chloe Ilson | Guest role, 2 episodes |
| 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 | Colleen Wing | Main role, 6 episodes |
| 2018 | Luke Cage | Colleen Wing | Guest star, Episode: "Wig Out" |
| 2020–present | Blood of Zeus | Alexia | Voice; main role, 15 episodes |
| 2021–2023 | Moley | Dotty | Voice; main role, 45 episodes; also writer |
| 2021–2022 | Blade Runner: Black Lotus | Elle | Voice; main role |
| 2022 | Carpool Karaoke: The Series | Self | Episode: "Simu Liu & Jessica Henwick" |
| 2024 | Twilight of the Gods | Sandraudiga | Voice; 3 episodes |
| 2025–present | Silo | Helen | Main role |

### 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 | Series 1 & 2 |
| 2020 | Harrow Lake | Narrator | |
| 2020 | The Long Way Home | Narrator | |
| 2021 | Hold Still Vincent | Faye | |

## Awards and nominations

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