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
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 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 of book
Vladimir.
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 ==