Jessica Henwick Says Rian Johnson Was Obligated to Cast Her

It can’t be easy to get cut from a project, but Jessica Henwick turned those lemons into lemonade by being cast in Knives Out 2, one of the more hotly anticipated projects of the coming year. More specifically, Henwick had been cut from director Rian Johnson‘s Star Wars: The Last Jedi. She was all set to appear, given that she had been in the previous film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as female X-Wing pilot Jess Testor. Henwick felt that Johnson owed her, so she campaigned for a role in Knives Out 2 and ultimately got it.

Henwick is also a fan of Johnson, which also played a part in this, with the actress becoming enamored with his directorial debut Brick. Here’s what she had to say about the matter in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:

“When I was a teenager, I watched ‘Brick’ in school and I loved it. So I wrote [Rian Johnson] a fan email, and he never responded. Cut to seven years later, I’m in [‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’], and I’m meant to go back to [‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’]. But Rian cuts me out of the project! Cut to this year, I finally got sent this script and I was like, ‘Put me in coach. Give me a Zoom. I don’t care if I get it. I just want to speak to Rian.’ So I revealed all of this to him. I was like, ‘I have a bone to pick with you!’ And of course, he was forced — he was morally obligated — to cast me in ‘Knives Out.’”

Their chemistry goes even further than simply casting. Johnson served as a mentor to Henwick in directing her first project, titled Bus Girl. She shadowed Johnson while he was directing Knives Out 2, all the while flying back-and-forth between that and her own short film. Bus Girl, which is described as a “love letter to the art of cooking set in a fancy London restaurant,” was shot entirely on a series of Mi 11 smartphones. Henwick’s film also stars Evanna Lynch, Lourdes Faberes, and Daniel Portman.

RELATED:‘Knives Out 2’: Cast, Filming Details, Netflix Deal & Everything We Know So Far

Knives Out 2 has quite the ensemble surrounding Henwick, with Kathryn Hahn, Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton, Dave Bautista, Kate Hudson, Leslie Odom Jr., Janelle Monáe, and Madelyn Cline rounding out the ensemble. Daniel Craig will also reprise his role as Detective Benoit Blanc. Netflix shelled out some major cash for the rights to Johnson’s two Knives Out sequels, with the first starring Henwick set for release next year.

Henwick can currently be seen as Bugs in The Matrix Resurrections, which is now in theaters and on HBO Max.

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