casting couch

Iron Fist Casts Jessica Henwick From The Force Awakens As Its Female Lead

Game of Thrones: Season Five' - World Premiere
Photo: Karwai Tang/WireImage

Step on up, Jessica Henwick. EW reports that the British actress who studied wushu to play the lead in BBC’s Spirit Warriors will be putting her martial arts skills to good use again as Colleen Wing in Netflix’s Iron Fist. Colleen is a martial arts instructor who befriends the protagonist Danny Rand (played by fellow Game of Thrones cast member Finn Jones), when he returns from the mystical land of K’un Lun imbued with ancient Chinese wisdom. This is a major role for Henwick. Since she became the first person of Asian descent to lead a British show (Spirit Warriors), she has appeared in smaller roles of big-budget projects, including as an X-wing fighter pilot in The Force Awakens and as the whip-smart Nymeria Sand in Game of Thrones. Also, Colleen’s character is Asian-American in the comics, so Marvel and Netflix are playing this casting by the book.

Iron Fist Casts Jessica Henwick As Female Lead