Jessica Henwick

Jessica Henwick (born 30 August 1992) is an English actress, writer and director. She began her career in 2010 and may be best known for her roles in Game of Thrones (2015–17), Iron Fist (2017–18), Love and Monsters, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022), The Royal Hotel (2023) and How to Make a Killing (2026). Her directorial debut, the short film Bus Girl (2022), was nominated for a BAFTA.

Early life and education Henwick is from Surrey and is 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. 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 Marvel Cinematic Universe television series Iron Fist (2017–2018). Although critical reception of Iron Fist was generally negative, Henwick's performance in the series was well received. She reprised the role for the miniseries The Defenders (2017), as well as the second season of Luke Cage (2018). At the end of 2017, Henwick was listed as one of Varietys Top Breakout Stars. In 2021, it was reported that Henwick turned down an offer to audition for a role in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which is part of the same franchise as Iron Fist, in the hopes that she could reprise her role as Colleen Wing. In 2026, she revealed there had been talks with her and Marvel to reprise her role as Colleen in the third season of Daredevil: Born Again (2027), but she turned down the offer in hopes of a better storyline in the future.

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 Reporters 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. Henwick served on the BAFTA jury for Best Short Film that year, following her nomination the previous year.

In 2025, Henwick joined the cast of Silo, films How to Make a Killing and The Roots Manoeuvre, and the Netflix adaptation Vladimir (TV series).

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 (1972) 2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens Jessika "Testor" Pava 2017 Newness Joanne 2020 Underwater Emily Haversham On the Rocks Fiona Saunders Love and Monsters Aimee 2021 The Matrix Resurrections Bugs 2022 The Gray Man Suzanne Brewer Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Peg 2023 The Royal Hotel Liv 2024 Cuckoo Beth 2026 How to Make a Killing Ruth The Land of Sometimes Mother (voice) 2027 Post-production Post-production 2012 The Thick of It Charlotte 1 episode 2014 Obsession: Dark Desires Jane Jeong Trenka Episode: "Silent Scream" Silk Amy Lang Main cast (series 3); 5 episodes Lewis Chloe Ilson 2 episodes 2015–2017 Game of Thrones Nymeria Sand Recurring role (seasons 5–7); 8 episodes 2017 Fortitude Bianca Mankyo 1 episode 2017–2018 Iron Fist Colleen Wing Main cast; 23 episodes 2017 The Defenders Colleen Wing Miniseries, main cast; 6 episodes 2018 Luke Cage Colleen WingEpisode: "Wig Out" 2020–2025 Blood of Zeus Alexia Main cast (voice role); 20 episodes 2021–2022 Blade Runner: Black Lotus Elle Main cast (voice role); 12 episodes 2021–2022 Moley Dotty Also writer, Main cast (voice role); 45 episodes 2022 Carpool Karaoke: The Series Self Episode: "Simu Liu & Jessica Henwick" 2024 Twilight of the Gods Sandraudiga 3 episodes (voice role) 2025–present Silo Helen Guest (season 2)Main cast (season 3–present)9 episodes 2026 Vladimir Cynthia Limited-run series, main cast; 8 episodes

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

Web series Year Title Role Notes 2025 Tales From Woodcreek River Stong Actual play; guest role, 2 episodes

Stage Year Title Role NotesRef. 2013 Running on the Cracks Leo National tour

Radio Year Title Role NotesRef. 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 The Long Way Home Narrator 2021 Hold Still Vincent Faye 2026 Harry Potter Narcissa Malfoy Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

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 2017Asians on Film Festival Best Original Script (shared with Lourdes Faberes) Best Ensemble The Hollywood Reporter The Hollywood Reporter Rising Young Star Film/TV career so far Hollywood Critics Association Critics' Choice Movie Awards 2023 Gold Derby Awards Best Ensemble Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery British Academy Film Awards Best British Short Film Bus Girl