Early work At age 17, in 1992, Henderson starred as
Stuart Neilson in the New Zealand prime-time soap opera
Shortland Street. He played the role until 1995.
Shortland Street became New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera. He subsequently lived in Australia for three years and appeared in a number of Australian films and television productions including
Echo Point and
Home and Away.
Move to the United States Henderson moved to the United States in 1997 to pursue a career in Hollywood films and to train in a two-year program at the
Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City with a student visa. To pay the tuition, he took a job at night as a restaurant food runner. While at school, he starred as
Hamlet in the off-Broadway play
Ophelia Thinks Harder. He left the school halfway through the two-year course and moved to Los Angeles. Henderson first landed a voice over part in a
Fanta commercial, speaking with an Australian accent. After more than a year unsuccessfully auditioning for film roles in Los Angeles, in 2001 he was cast in a supporting role in the
John Woo-directed
war film Windtalkers. In 2002, Henderson starred opposite
Naomi Watts in the horror film
The Ring. and subsequently as the lead character in the biker film
Torque, released in early 2004. In 2005, he appeared in the award-winning
Little Fish starring
Cate Blanchett. He was set to star alongside
Jordana Brewster in the television series adapted from the 2005 film
Mr. & Mrs. Smith. However, the series was not picked up by any network. In 2006, he appeared in the movie
Flyboys. He also appeared in a commercial for the 2008
Cadillac CTS, and the
House episode "
Painless". In 2010, Henderson was cast in ''
Grey's Anatomy'' creator
Shonda Rhimes' short-lived television series
Off the Map as a New Zealand doctor. In 2014, he starred in the multi-platform Australian drama television series
Secrets & Lies and in the
SundanceTV drama series
The Red Road. In 2015, Henderson appeared in
Everest, with
Jake Gyllenhaal. In June that year, he joined the cast of ''
Grey's Anatomy'', as a potential love interest for series lead
Ellen Pompeo's
Meredith Grey, making his first appearance in November, as Dr. Nathan Riggs. The actor exited two years later, his final appearance in October 2017. Henderson told
Deadline that his departure was a storytelling-based decision, adding, "This [was] my final year so I was expecting Nathan’s storyline to be wrapped up." In 2016, he starred in the film
Miracles from Heaven opposite
Jennifer Garner. Since 2019, Henderson has co-starred on the
Netflix series
Virgin River alongside
Alexandra Breckenridge, playing the role of Jack Sheridan, a former marine with PTSD. The seventh season commenced filming in spring of 2025. He was cast in A24 horror film
X (2022) as Wayne Gilroy. ==Personal life==