Jessica Henwick is walking home from dinner in Berlin – where she is filming Matrix 4 – as she calls. Jessica has a little over two weeks of filming left but the British actress isn’t focused on the future, “Honestly, I’m not committing to any decision until I’m actually at the airport and then I will choose where I want to go,” she laughs.
It’s that spirit that has seen Jessica through many ups and downs in her career. Despite featuring in three of the biggest entertainment franchises in the world, playing Nymeria Sand in season five of Game of Thrones, taking on the role of Colleen Wing in Netflix’s Marvel universe series, Iron Fist and Star Wars, there has been disappointment along the way. In the latter, Jessica played Jess Pava an X-Wing pilot, a role written especially for her by director, J. J. Abram, but it came after she spent six months auditioning for the role of Rey, before she lost out on it to Daisy Ridley.
Jessica’s resilience has led to her carving out her own narrative by creating comedy TV series, Nancy Wu Done It, which has been snapped up by Amazon Prime– the very same company that took Fleabag to stateside fame. Described as, “Pleasantville meets Nancy Drew,” the show, which follows an Asian-American Young Adult writer who is sucked into one of her books and forced to solve a mystery, is yet to be given a release date but after speaking with Jessica we just can’t wait for more of her!
In the meantime, prepare to see the 28-year-old in not just one but two movies this month. The first is an apocalypse-themed movie, Love and Monsters, coming soon to Netflix. Set seven years after ‘Monsterpocalypse’ where giant creatures took control of the world, forcing humans to live underground, Joel Dawson (Dylan O’Brien) connects over a radio with his high school girlfriend, Aimee, played by Jessica. Desperate to see her IRL, Joel risks everything to be with Aimee again so it’s just like dating in a Covid world, then, isn’t it?! The second is Sofia Coppola’s debut on Apple TV in On the Rocks, which follows Rashida Jones’s Laura who reconnects with her playboy father, played by Bill Murray, as she embarks on an adventure to discover whether her husband is having an affair.
Here, Jessica takes a break from being booked and busy to talk apocalyptic worlds and overcoming the lack of representation for East Asian actresses…
Love and Monsters is set in a post-apocalyptic world – how real does that storyline feel right now and what tips have you learned from dealing with that apocalypse for the world we’re living in?
It was really so accidental, but it feels super timely! When we filmed this a year and a half ago, I had no idea this would be happening. The message of the film is very much, “don’t settle.” Which I think is something that should be kept in mind, regardless of the current situation or the future. Don’t settle. Always dream big and go for it. Believe in yourself.
When have you had to remind yourself to actually believe in yourself?
There’s definitely been moments early on in my career before I became hardened to rejection. You can’t help but take it personally and think, “Am I not pretty enough? Am I not talented enough? Am I not funny enough?” And comparing yourself – because of the nature of this job – to the other girls who are auditioning. Once I realised that it very rarely has to do with you, whether you get a job or not – it has so much to do with things outside of your control – and I took that pressure off and focused on enjoying myself, being proud of the work I was doing and having fun, that’s honestly when it clicked for me and my career.
Oh, completely. It is one of the worst things without social media.
Love and Monsters looked like a hoot to film. What is your most treasured memory from shooting?
Towards the end of filming, Dylan (O’Brien) and I were on this beach, which is a very vital part of the film. I was up at the crack of dawn; I watched the sunrise and then a stingray breached. It was one of those moments where you think, “Oh God, I’m so lucky to do this. I’m so privileged and I should never take it for granted again.” So, I think I will always remember that.
In creating your own Amazon Prime show, Nancy Wu Done It, you have really taken control of the narrative of your career. In the course of your career how have you seen representation on screen change?
When I first started in England, it was definitely a push to get seen for anything. There wasn’t much interest in seeing East Asian actresses on screen. That lasted for the first five to six years of my career. It has a lot to do with society, in general, and what was being made. When I first started really auditioning a lot, the main shows that were being created in England were Downton Abbey, Jane Austen adaptations and period dramas, and they did not want to see an Asian actor for any of those roles. It has to do with that. The actual film industry needed to change. But I definitely think that with things like Crazy Rich Asians, it’s shown that there’s such an appetite for these stories, these untold stories, so things are looking up. That was exactly why I started writing. I was so jaded about the stories being told and I wanted to be a part of the change of the. All of the pieces that I’ve been writing have tended to be more untold stories, the lesser represented stories. My focus will always be on telling the untold story.
You love a physically challenging role, what have you learned about the power of your own body and your own mind from being in this industry?
I definitely try to take away some of that female empowerment from my character. I have been very lucky in that I have played a string of really strong women. In terms of what I’ve learned, it’s you who sets the limit, and that’s how the, ‘house,’ will treat you. That’s what I have personally found. I’m trying to get better at it, at setting the tone for how I want to be treated and practicing what I preach.
It’s project after project for you at the moment, with On The Rocks coming to Apple TV created by Sofia Coppola. What do you think you’ve learned about the idea of sisterhood on-screen and also behind the screens – how powerful that can be in your career?
Getting to see the way that Sofia worked with Rashida (Jones) was very beautiful and how collaborative they were. Sofia wasn’t precious at all. She was very much of the opinion that good ideas can come from anyone. I think if I were to be a director – which I hope one day happens – I would want to be like her. I’d want to run the set in a similar way to her. She had a very quiet strength. She didn’t raise her voice. She was never cruel, which you do often see on sets, people ruling the set in their own particular ways.
If you could go back to a point in your life where you could call yourself, be a friend to yourself and give yourself a piece of advice what would it be and when?
Oh my gosh, that’s a hard one. Honestly, I think I would call myself a couple months ago, at the beginning of lockdown, and just tell myself to relax, because it was so stressful. Everything was so unknown.
On the Rocks is available on AppleTV now and Love & Monsters is coming to Netflix soon
