Jessica Henwick Talks How to Make a Killing, Daredevil: Born Again

Jessica Henwick and her How to Make a Killing character are both at a crossroads. 

In John Patton Ford’s Emily the Criminal follow-up for A24, Henwick plays Ruth, a disenchanted fashionista who’s trading her childhood ambition for a more fulfilling career as an English lit teacher. Her dead-end relationship with an obnoxious photographer named Noah Redfellow (Zach Woods) literally becomes just that upon meeting his long-lost bastard cousin, Becket (Glen Powell). The latter Redfellow is targeting the seven Redfellows who stand in the way of the $28 billion family fortune that he and his late mother were denied after he was born out of wedlock. Once Noah is permanently removed from the board, Ruth and Becket can’t help but act on the obvious attraction and chemistry between the two of them.

Henwick’s Ruth, opposite Margaret Qualley’s avaricious Julia, represent a fork in the road for Becket. Ruth challenges Becket’s drive for material wealth, offering the counterargument that a modest life can be more rewarding. Overall, Ruth happens to issue a rebuttal to the common “dream big” mantra, one that Marty Supreme, Song Sung Blue and GOAT have emphasized recently.

“I definitely subscribed to [‘dream big’] for a really long time. And that drive and discontent has got me to where I am. But, ultimately, would I be happier if I was not so driven? Yeah, maybe,” Henwick tells The Hollywood Reporter in support of the A24 tragicomedy. “No one talks about the beauty of simple living. I think that’s why ‘slow life’ is such a trend online at the moment. I love watching slow life videos. So Ruth is speaking to a movement that is happening right now.”

Similar to Ruth, Henwick is also weighing her future — both in front of the camera and behind the camera. Her lovely 2022 short film, Bus Girl, received a BAFTA nomination, and that seems to have whet her appetite for more filmmaking and less acting. Ford, in an upcoming interview with THR, also adds that Henwick is one the few actors he knows who turns down work in favor of other passions. 

“I really relate to Ruth. I really relate to the idea of acting versus the reality of acting. That realization has happened to me. I’m going through that process right now, and I’m trying to figure out what I actually want,” Henwick admits. “I am trying to get my debut feature funded right now, and it makes me so excited thinking about it. I’ll always love acting. It’s my first love. But the idea of writing and directing does light me up.”

If Henwick were to take a step back from acting, it would be a tremendous loss for one of the most versatile — and still somewhat underappreciated — talents working today. In the meantime, she has plenty of work in the pipeline including Vladimir, a Netflix limited series opposite Rachel Weisz, and a substantial role on Silo season three. She’s also wrapped two more movies, one of which is Raine Allen-Miller’s Rye Lane follow-up, The Roots Manoeuvre. The other is a co-starring role alongside Taron Egerton in the comedy-thriller, Everyone Wants to Fuck Me. (Yes, Henwick expects the title to be changed.)

Unfortunately, her upcoming slate does not include a reprisal of martial artist Colleen Wing on Daredevil: Born Again season two. Henwick was the most widely praised aspect of Netflix’s Marvel series, Iron Fist, and she also starred on The Defenders, which teamed up most of the former Netflix-Marvel superheroes that are now free to pop up in the MCU. Daredevil himself, Charlie Cox, told THR in 2022 that he would put in a good word for Henwick, so there’s still a chance of a return in season three. 

“I’m not on Daredevil: Born Again. I did, however, go and hang out on set, and I had a great time. I can say that the new season is going to be incredible. It’s incredible,” Henwick shares. “Seeing Charlie in the suit was so nostalgic and fun. He’s just so perfect in that role. What a great guy, what a great show. I’m really excited for the fans. They’re going to be happy. And fans of the Netflix shows will be very happy.”

Below, during a conversation with THR, Henwick also looks back on Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, as well as whether there’s more Matrix in her future.

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Between Emily the Criminal and a great cast, you had plenty of reasons to join How to Make a Killing. But A24 and Neon happen to be the cool kids’ tables right now. You had Cuckoo and The Royal Hotel at Neon within the last few years; you had On The Rocks with A24-Apple. Is anything A24 pretty much a no-brainer now?

Yeah, they’re making some of the most interesting films in the business right now.  I know How to Make a Killing is technically IP [as it’s loosely inspired by 1949’s Kind Hearts and Coronets], but A24’s dedication to original filmmaking and new directors is really exciting and rare. 

Franchise roles seem to have lost a little bit of luster. They’re no longer the safe bets they used to be in terms of longevity and advancement.

Yeah. 

Is a buzzy A24 movie just as attractive to actors now? 

Yeah, for sure. Everyone wants to work with them. When I tell people about the film, they’re like, “The new A24 film!?” It’s a topic amongst actors. 

Ruth is the most I’ve ever related to a character of yours. She forever dreamed of a career in fashion only to realize that it made her miserable. So she pivoted to teaching, not for money or status, but happiness. Your lifelong dreams worked out much better for you, so did you ever imagine Ruth to be you if you fell out of love with acting?

It wasn’t that I thought of her like the Choose Your Own Adventure, alternate version of me. I really relate to Ruth. I really relate to the idea of acting versus the reality of acting. That realization has happened to me. I’m going through that process right now, and I’m trying to figure out what I actually want. Which parts of the job do I love? Which parts of the job turn me on? So, no, I really related to Ruth in quite a visceral sense actually. 

Are you saying that you like writing and directing more than acting? 

(Laughs.) I am trying to get my debut feature funded right now, and it makes me so excited thinking about it. I still love acting. I’ll always love acting. It’s my first love. But the idea of writing and directing does light me up. It sets me on fire, one could say. [Writer’s Note: Henwick was on the road at this point in the conversation, and emergency lights of some sort briefly turned her face red.]

Ruth is the heart and moral compass of How to Make a Killing. It’s easy to feel pity for her getting caught up with these two undeserving Redfellows. She likely met Noah (Zach Woods) through the fashion world, so how much did that bad relationship affect her career decision? 

It actually had a huge impact because he represents everything wrong with the industry. He’s the gross, naval-gazing, narcissistic side of the creative arts. It is easy to feel bad for her, but I also don’t feel bad for her because it’s a rite of passage to go through these bad relationships. It makes you a better person, and it makes you realize what you want.

Marty Supreme had the slogan of “dream big.” I just watched a movie called GOAT that also had the “dream big” mantra. Your former boss, Kate Hudson, her movie, Song Sung Blue, even has the tagline of “dream huge.” But Ruth makes the case for the opposite approach, later saying, “It’s scary to dream small; nobody teaches us how to do that.” And she’s right. Do you think it’s a mistake that so many of us were raised to think that “the right kind of life” involves fame and/or fortune?

I don’t know because I definitely subscribed to [“dream big”] for a really long time. You can do better, you can be better, you can do more. And that drive and discontent has got me to where I am. But, yes, ultimately, would I be happier if I was not so driven? Yeah, maybe. I think Ruth’s right. In the push for greatness and to be special and to be the chosen one, no one talks about the beauty of simple living. I think that’s why “slow life” is such a trend online at the moment. People are really attracted to those kinds of creators on social media. I love watching slow life videos. I find it really interesting. So Ruth is speaking to a movement that is happening right now.

Ruth immediately hits it off with Noah’s long-lost cousin, Becket Redfellow (Powell), and they bond over English literature. You and Glen Powell both had the challenge of saying the obscenely long full title of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield at the same time [The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery]. Who messed up first? 

Glen is the ultimate professional and knows all of his lines, so I actually think that we got it in one. I don’t think we ever messed up.

Has Madelyn Cline called you for your Glen Powell guidebook yet? She’s working with him next on a Judd Apatow comedy.

I think we’ve talked a little bit about Glen, but we’ve not spoken since she signed on to it. We’ve been friends for years, so she heard what it was like to work with him when I was working with him.. But you’re right. I should send her the handbook. 

Did you and Madelyn first bond with each other over the fact that both of your Glass Onion characters are assistants who vape? 

(Laughs.) I think we just bonded over the fact that we were the two non-celebrities in the cast. We were the two non-famous people. That just instantly threw us together. We’re both crazy drivers as well, so we bonded over that. We lived down the road from each other, and we would just drive back and forth very erratically across rural Greek countryside lanes. I love Maddie. She’s so talented and so deserving about everything that’s happening. She’s the best. 

Madelyn’s casting as the driver in I Know What You Did Last Summer makes a whole lot more sense now.

(Laughs.)

I learned from Glass Onion that you can do physical comedy, such as when Peg is running back and forth in the frame with the fire extinguisher. And then you had the funniest exchange of the movie, starting with, “Birdie. Please tell me you did not think sweatshops are where they make sweat pants,” and capping it off with, “Oh my God.” How many variations did you offer Rian Johnson that day? 

Not many. That was the audition scene, so Rian and I workshopped it in the audition. And by the time we got to set, I was so excited to finally do the audition scene. We knocked it out in only a couple takes, and I don’t think there was much back and forth for that.

Did Glass Onion have a hand in your casting on the upcoming Netflix miniseries, Vladimir, with Rachel Weisz? Did you make an impression on her at a premiere/after party?

No, but I did meet Rachel [during a Glass Onion after party]. I made an absolute fool of myself by talking about how obsessed I used to be with her when I was a teenager and how beautiful she is. And I just thank God she was also tipsy. But she remembered that we had met before. 

Glass Onion, interestingly, got me the job on Silo, even though that has the least comedy I think I’ve ever played. Graham Yost, the showrunner, watched Glass Onion, and he is just really attracted to actors who can do comedy, so that’s how I ended up there.

Had season two’s marketing informed me that you were going to appear, I probably wouldn’t be eight episodes behind right now.

Oh, don’t worry. It was a surprise. It’s all good.

So here’s the question you’ve been waiting for: What episode of Daredevil: Born Again season two are you appearing in?

(Laughs.) I’m not on Daredevil: Born Again. 

What!? 

(Laughs.) I’m not on Daredevil: Born Again. I did, however, go and hang out on set, and I had a great time. I can say that the new season is going to be incredible. It’s incredible. Seeing Charlie in the suit was so nostalgic and fun. He’s just so perfect in that role. What a great guy, what a great show. I’m really excited for the fans. They’re going to be happy. And fans of the Netflix shows will be very happy.

When you were promoting Glass Onion, a number of reporters brought up how Charlie Cox had recently said that he would put in a good word for you, and that was courtesy of my handiwork. 

That’s true!

I also asked Marvel’s head of streaming if you’re on their board, so I’ve done my civic duty here.

I know! You’ve done your work. If I ever go back, I will give you a commission. (Laughs.)

Thank you. Please inform your agents. When you and your The Royal Hotel castmates weren’t having tortilla fights, did you and Hugo Weaving have the awkward Matrix Resurrections conversation?

(Laughs.) We did! We did talk Matrix. Hugo was originally supposed to be in Matrix Resurrections, and then it fell through. I think this is public knowledge. 

Yeah, he tried to juggle a play in London at the same time, and Lana Wachowski decided that the dueling schedules weren’t going to work. 

We did have a long talk about how that came to be — and his experience on the film versus my experience on the film. Hugo is wonderful. I really wish I could have worked with him on Matrix, but I’m glad I got the opportunity on Royal Hotel. Considering how famous he is, he really doesn’t act like a celebrity at all between takes or after we wrapped. Every time I was in the bar, I would see him there hanging out with the local sheep farmers. He would just give out his phone number like candy. So we would be on set and he’d be getting these random texts from the local sheep farmers. (Laughs.) He’s just a lad. He likes to drink and play pool and have a good time. 

Hey, that’s Cliff Curtis! Cliff Curtis is checking into the hotel. He’s so talented. [Writer’s Note: Henwick’s car dropped her off at her hotel earlier in our chat, and then she continued the conversation from the lobby.]

A few years ago, you were on a flight where the person next to you started watching Matrix Resurrections. But you never tapped them on the shoulder to reveal yourself? 

No, because I thought that would be so douchey. Do you think I should have done that? 

Yeah, it would’ve given the person one of the greatest and craziest stories of their life.

But what if they were like, “I hate the film”? I also didn’t have blue hair, and so people don’t recognize me from that. 

They would’ve figured it out after the shoulder tap. 

(Laughs.) The person did notice me filming their screen, and I thought, “Now they’re going to figure it out.’ But they still didn’t figure it out. I was like, “Okay, nevermind.”

When Matrix 4 came out, it was amid the streaming boom, and Warners was green lighting spinoff series for a number of their movie franchises. Several well-sourced journalists I trust had told me that a Bugs series was on the table, but you told me at the time you’d heard nothing of the sort. 

Yeah, there’s always these rumors about my character, but I don’t know where that came from. No one spoke to me about it. I know that Drew Goddard was developing a film.

Yeah, Drew Goddard, who created Netflix’s Daredevil, was in development on one a couple years ago. Have there been any whispers about Bugs’ involvement? 

I’ve not heard anything in years. I don’t know if that’s still happening. I’d love to read it. I have asked my agents to send it to me when it starts floating around. But I didn’t hear anything about a TV series. I don’t know if they’re planning that at all. 

You are in an upcoming movie with Taron Egerton called Everybody Wants to Fuck Me. Do you expect the title to remain? Or do you think it’ll go the way of Huntington (one of How to Make a Killing’s former titles)?

That was the first thing I said to them when I signed on. I said, “You know that title is not going to stay?” And they were like, “No, it is because they announced it.” And I went, “Yeah, they announced it because it looks great in an announcement. It’s shocking and it makes people talk about it. But there’s no way that they will put that on a bus stop, or let Graham Norton say, ‘And now, from the film Everybody Wants to Fuck Me …’” (Laughs.) No, I expect the title to become Everybody or Everybody Wants Me. It’ll be something like that. 

For Huntington [now How to Make a Killing], we tried to change the title to The Bastard, and we got pushback on that as well. 

The Bastard is kinda cool.

Yeah, The Bastard would’ve been cool. 

I recently asked Simu Liu if your promotion of his book was your way of apologizing for not wanting to play his sister in Shang-Chi, and he was visibly flustered that I knew about any of that.

(Laughs.) That’s really funny. I was supposed to screen test with him, and I said no. Then this Asian company that does Actors on Actors-type interviews happened to pair me and Simu together [for an interview], so I did apologize to him in person. The book tour was just a fun little tidbit on the side. We Were Dreamers is a great read if you haven’t read it.

You basically created The Bear before, or at the exact same time, as The Bear did. 

I know, but people watched Bus Girl after they saw The Bear. I’ve had people come up to me and say, “This is just The Bear.” 

Bus Girl and the pilot of The Bear both shot in the summer of 2021. But you got a BAFTA nom out of it. Is there going to be a third chapter? Or are you focusing on your feature?

I’m focusing on my feature. I’ve written a script, and I’ve sent it to everyone. I’m trying to get together two-and-a-half [million], and I would love to start shooting it within the next year. That’s the dream goal right now. 

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How to Make a Killing is now playing in movie theaters.