Jessica Henwick

Jessica Henwick
Born Jessica Henwick
30 August 1992
Surrey, England
Occupation Actress
Years active 2010–present
Agent Tavistock Wood
Known for Game of Thrones, Silk, Spirit Warriors
Parent(s) Mark Henwick
Website
www.jessicahenwick.com

Jessica Yu Li Henwick (born 30 August 1992) is an English actress of Singaporean descent. She was the first East Asian actress to play the lead role in a British television series.[1][2][3]

Early life

Born to a Singaporean Chinese mother and a British father, Henwick was born and raised in England.[4] She trained at Redroofs Theatre School and 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] For the role, Henwick trained in wushu with martial arts choreographer Jude Poyer.[7] The show was nominated for several awards, including the Broadcast Awards 2011.[8]

In 2012, Henwick recorded the role of Helen for the second season of the BBC radio play North by Northamptonshire, starring Geoffrey Palmer, Sheila Hancock and Mackenzie Crook.[9] The show was nominated for a Sony Radio Award in 2012.[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,[11] 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."[12] Theatre critic Joyce McMillan wrote that Henwick was "outstanding as Leo".[13]

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.[14] Henwick also joined the cast of Silk as new barrister pupil Amy. During the finale episode of Silk, she was accepted to Shoe Lane chambers as a full barrister, not just a pupil.[15][16] She reprised her role for the spin-off radio series Silk: The Clerks' Room.[17]

In 2015 Henwick joined the cast of the HBO series Game of Thrones in Season 5 as Nymeria Sand, with Oscar-nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes and Rosabell Laurenti Sellers playing her sisters. The process included six months of training to use a traditional bullwhip.[18]

Filmography

Film & Television

Year Title Role Notes
2009–2010 Spirit Warriors Bo Season 1
2012 The Thick of It Charlotte Season 4
2013 Dragonfly Paula Reid Film
2014 Obsession: Dark Desires Jane Jeong Trenka Season 1
Silk Amy Lang Season 3
Balsa Wood Scotty Short film
Lewis Chloe Season 8
2015 Game of Thrones Nymeria Sand Season 5
Star Wars: The Force Awakens TBA[19] Film

Theatre

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Running on the Cracks Leo Adaptation of Julia Donaldson novel. National tour.

Voiceover

Radio credits
Year Title Role Notes
2011–2012 North by Northamptonshire Helen BBC Radio Four Sony Radio Award Nomination
2013 Monday to Friday Julie BBC Radio Scotland
2014 Silk: The Clerks Room Amy Lang Silk (TV series) spin-off
Video Game credits
Year Title Role Notes
2015 Dreamfall Chapters: The Longest Journey Enu / Hanna Roth Episode 2

References

  1. ↑ "New Statesman". Newstatesman.com. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "Reflections on Actors: Minority Identity Actors in the Creative Industries of Contemporary Britain Simone Knox / University of Reading - Flow". Flowtv.org. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Actors of Colour". Media Diversified. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "Where exactly are my British Chinese role models?". New States Man. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  5. ↑ "BBC One - 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 1 December 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  7. ↑ "Press Office – Spirit Warriors press pack: cast interviews". BBC. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  8. ↑ "Broadcast Awards 2011: shortlist announced | News | Broadcast". Broadcastnow.co.uk. 30 November 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  9. ↑ LAMDA Examinations and Beyond at the Wayback Machine (archived 15 April 2012). Voiceover issue 15, page 10. LAMDA, October 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  10. ↑ "The Sony Radio Awards 2012 nominations". The Guardian (London). 30 March 2012.
  11. ↑ "Twitter / helencadbury: Hurray! @katieposner @JHenwick". Twitter.com. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  12. ↑ Mark Fisher (18 February 2013). "Running on the Cracks – review | Stage". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  13. ↑ "Theatre review: Running On The Cracks, Tron, Glasgow". The Scotsman. 8 February 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  14. ↑ "Shows". Crime and Investigation. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  15. ↑ "'Homeland', 'New Girl', 'Peep Show': Tube Talk Q&A – TV Blog". Digital Spy. 26 September 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  16. ↑ "BBC One - Silk, Jessica Henwick introduces new barrister pupil Amy". BBC. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  17. ↑ "TV drama Silk in radio spin-off". BBC News. 20 March 2014.
  18. ↑ Daggers drawn: The Sand sisters vs Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones Season 5, The Telegraph, Calcutta, India, 29 March 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  19. ↑ Lovett, Jamie (November 26, 2014). "Star Wars: The Force Awakens Adds Jessica Henwick To Cast". Comicbook.com.

External links