Eastern promise
Jessica henwick is making her mark in GameOfThrones and StarWars:EpisodeVii–TheForceawakens.
THE name Jessica Henwick may not be a familiar one, but that is about to change soon. Not only does Henwick appear in the fifth season of the hit series
(as one of the Sand Snakes, a dangerous trio made up of half sisters), she’s also listed as a cast member in the much talked about
as ... OK, we’re not sure what or who she portrays in that film yet.
Getting the 23-year-old to divulge anything on is unfruitful as she’s quite adept at evading questions pertaining to the movie.
“I think I am quite good at keeping secrets,” she says in a 20-minute phone interview from London. “You have to be in this industry. Every year, more and more shows are getting secretive because everyone is so good at finding information. Everyone is a little hacker. So yeah, you definitely have to be careful.”
Fortunately, the English lass of mixed parentage (“My dad was born and raised in Zambia, but he is English, and my mum is Singaporean”) is forthcoming about everything else.
In the new season of (GOT) she plays Nymeria Sand, the illegitimate daughter of Oberyn Martell (who was crushed to death last season) and a noblewoman from the East.
While the description of Nymeria in the book fits Henwick perfectly – slim, straight black hair, dark eyes and pale white skin – the weapons the character uses in the book and the series are slightly different. In the book, Nymeria is skilled with blades, arms herself with hidden daggers and uses poison from time to time.
“We have changed it for the series,” shares Henwick. “My character uses an eight-foot whip and then a hand dagger. For the readers, don’t go thinking you know exactly what’s going to happen. There are a couple of changes.”
Like a trooper, Henwick – who got the role within a month after three auditions – immediately dived into training and preparation. This involved dialect sessions and five months of working with a bullwhip – specifically, learning how to hit targets.
“It’s a very, very, difficult weapon; it’s all about wrist movement and balance. I had a lot of injuries.”
It was all worth it, in the end. Henwick got to do all of her stunts, handling a real whip. The production team made two whips: an eight-foot kangaroo skin whip with a bronze handle for close-ups and a rubber and plastic handled whip which Henwick used in the fight sequences as it was lighter.
According to Henwick, Nymeria is different from other roles she has portrayed. “She sits back and observes and then she, very carefully, makes her move. She is kind of like a chess player.”
Although most of us here may have never seen Henwick’s work, she has added a number of British TV series to her acting resume since making her debut in the leading role of the 2010 series,
It was the role that made her the first East Asian actress to bag a lead role in a British series.
Henwick was just 17 going on 18 when she got the role in but she says she already knew at that point of time that she wanted to be an actress.
“The opportunity is very, very, low here. So, there was some part of me that wondered if I was on a fool’s quest. But I got really lucky, and I have to thank my mum.
“We were in Chinatown when we saw a poster for this new show, It was auditioning for a young boy or a young girl. And I wanted my younger brother to go. So I signed him up. He ended up not getting the role because he didn’t want to act.
“And they said, ‘ why don’t you audition’ and they ended up rewriting the role for me. It was wonderful and cemented my idea that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”
Despite the challenges of being an Asian-looking actor in England, Henwick is proud of her heritage and says she wouldn’t want it any other way.
No wonder then, like any Asian worth her salt, Henwick loves Asian food.
“My favourites are Singapore chilli crab, Hainanese chicken rice, kway teow and laksa. When I am in Asia, I love eating seafood because the seafood in England is really sad. Seafood in Asia is amazing. I am familiar with Asian drinks as well. I love a good Milo Dinosaur, and sago tea as well.”
Though born and raised in England, Henwick has made her way to this part of the world many times. “When I was a child, I would go (to South-East Asia) every year.
“Lately, work has been kind of crazy so I haven’t been back for several years. The last time I was back, I stayed for like three months, travelling to Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia. I really had a good time and definitely want to come back to see more.”
Henwick reveals it’s in her plans to move to Asia one day. “I would love to come back to live in Singapore or Malaysia.”
For now, however, she’s happy to be in demand as a working “Singaporean-Brit” actress.
When asked how she feels to be the first actress of South-East Asian descent to star in she answers: “When they first announced I got the role, I got a huge amount of Asian people saying this is amazing. The show has been on for a while, and it’s scary I am the first. But I take it all in my stride and I hope I can live up to that responsibility.”