Daniel Henshall | |
|---|---|
 Henshall in February 2012 | |
| Born | Daniel Edwin Henshall 9 August 1982 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2006–present |
Daniel Edwin Henshall (born 9 August 1982) is an Australian actor. Following his film debut in Snowtown (2011), for which he won the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Henshall appeared in films such as The Babadook (2014), Okja (2017), Acute Misfortune (2018), and Catch the Fair One (2021).
Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, he is the youngest of three children. [1]
He graduated from the full time acting program at Actors Centre Australia in 2006.
Henshall's first major role was on the short lived BBC soap Out of the Blue (2008), where he played happy go lucky, Adam 'Ado' O'Donnell.
He won the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his debut feature film performance as real life serial killer, John Bunting, in Justin Kurzel's Snowtown (2011). [2] [3] [4] Indiewire named it one of the best performances of 2012. [5] Snowtown was selected to play at Critics' Week during the Cannes Film Festival where it was awarded two special mention prizes.
Henshall originated the role of Dan Oldfield in the initial sell-out seasons of The Secret River (2013) written by Andrew Bovell, commissioned by Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton for The Sydney Theatre Company.
For four seasons he played co-lead, whaler spy Caleb Brewster, alongside Jamie Bell, Heather Lind and Seth Numrich in the AMC revolutionary war series Turn: Washington's Spies (2014–2017).
Writer/Director Jennifer Kent cast him as Nurse Robbie, opposite Essie Davis, in the universally praised, modern cult classic, The Babadook (2014). The Babadook had its world premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
In the Dreamworks live-action version of the Ghost in the Shell (2017) he played Skinny Man, an AI corrupted vigilante, opposite Scarlett Johansson. Johansson and Henshall battle it out in a recreation of the famous water fight and interrogation scenes of the original 1995 Anime of the same name. [6]
Oscar-winning Director Bong Joon-ho cast him as Blonde, animal rights-activist and boyfriend of Silver, alongside Paul Dano, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins and Devon Bostick, in the action-adventure feature film Okja (2017). Okja competed for the Palme d'or in Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
He played white supremacist Slayer, opposite Jamie Bell, Vera Farmiga and Bill Camp, in Skin (2018), based on the life of Bryon Widner and work of Daryle Lamont Jenkins. [7] Skin had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.
Henshall was nominated for the Film Critics Circle of Australia and Australian Film Critics Association Awards for Best Actor for his performance as Archibald Prize-winning artist Adam Cullen in Acute Misfortune (2019), opposite Toby Wallace and directed by Thomas M. Wright. [8] [9] Acute Misfortune was named best Australian film of 2019 by The Guardian.
He played murder suspect Leonard Patz, opposite Chris Evans and Cherry Jones, in the Apple TV+ thriller Defending Jacob (2020), directed by Morten Tyldum.
He played Daryl Dunn, criminal on the run turned Santa, in the family Christmas comedy, A Sunburnt Christmas (2020), directed by Christiaan Van Vuuren. [10]
In the Netflix series Clickbait (2021), he played grieving brother turned vigilante, Simon Burton, opposite Zoe Kazan, Adrian Grenier and Phoenix Raei.
He played Bobby, a human trafficker, in the film Catch the Fair One (2021), opposite Kali Reis and Kevin Dunn, and directed by Josef Kubota Wladyka. Catch the Fair One premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival where it won the Audience Award.
Henshall had a cameo in the third and final season of the cult FX series Mr Inbetween (2022), opposite creator Scott Ryan and directed by Nash Edgerton.
He was nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama for his work as Patrick, the fraudulent son of a bankrupt mining family, in Mystery Road: Origin (2022), directed by Dylan River.
He played bar fly and menace, Dolly, opposite Julia Garner, Jessica Henwick and Hugo Weaving in The Royal Hotel (2023), directed by Kitty Green. The Royal Hotel had its world premiere at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival.
Henshall has been nominated for the 2025 AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his work as Joe, in the Warner Bros film How to Make Gravy (an adaptation of the iconic Australian song of the same name by singer-songwriter Paul Kelly), opposite Hugo Weaving, Agathe Rousselle and Damon Herriman, and directed by Nick Waterman.
Soon he will be seen opposite Olivia Colman and John Lithgow in Sophie Hyde's family drama Jimpa. Jimpa will have its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
Next, he will appear in Director Bong Joon-Ho's space odyssey Mickey 17, opposite Robert Pattinson, Mark Ruffalo and Naomi Ackie for Warner Bros, and the third and final season of the award-winning ABC Australia series The Newsreader, opposite Anna Torv and directed by Emma Freeman.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Snowtown | John Bunting | Winner – AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Winner – Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor Winner – Australian Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Winner – Marrakech International Film Festival Award for Best Actor |
| 2012 | Not Suitable for Children | Dave | |
| Any Questions for Ben? | Nick | ||
| 2013 | These Final Hours | Freddy | |
| 2014 | The Babadook | Robbie | |
| Fell | Luke | ||
| 2017 | Ghost in the Shell | Skinny Man | |
| Okja [11] | Blonde | ||
| 2019 | Acute Misfortune | Adam Cullen | Nominated – Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor Nominated – Australian Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor |
| Skin | Slayer | ||
| 2020 | Measure for Measure | Lukey | |
| A Sunburnt Christmas | Daryl Dun | ||
| 2021 | Catch the Fair One | Bobby | |
| 2023 | The Royal Hotel [12] | Dolly | |
| 2024 | How to Make Gravy | Joe | Pending - AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role |
| 2025 | Mickey 17 | TBA | Post-production |
| TBA | Jimpa | TBA |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | All Saints | Tim Downly | Episode The Pain of It All | |
| 2008 | Out of the Blue | Adam 'Ado' O'Donnell | Main cast | |
| 2010 | Rescue Special Ops | Trevor Slezack | Episode Street Legal | |
| 2012 | Rake | Clown | Episode R vs Mohammed | |
| Devil's Dust | Jock | Ensemble | ||
| 2013 | Mr & Mrs Murder | Gregor Cheresniak | Episode Atlas Drugged | |
| 2015 | The Beautiful Lie | Kingsley Faraday | Main cast | |
| 2014–2017 | Turn: Washington's Spies | Caleb Brewster | Main cast | [13] |
| 2019 | Lambs of God | Barnaby | Main Cast | |
| Bloom | Griffo | Main Cast | ||
| 2020 | Defending Jacob | Leonard Patz | Ensemble | |
| 2021 | Clickbait | Simon Burton | Episode The Brother | [14] |
| Fires | Kip | Ensemble | ||
| Mr Inbetween | Kenny | Cameo | ||
| 2022 | Mystery Road: Origin | Patrick | Nominated - AACTA Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama | [15] |
| 2023 | RFDS | Glen | Episode 2.6 | |
| 2025 | The Newsreader | Bill | Main Cast | [16] |
| The Family Next Door | TBA | In production | [17] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Golden Ass | Various | Bsharp, Belvoir St Theatre |
| 2007 | The Popular Mechanicals | Flute | Riverside Theatres Parramatta |
| 2008 | Belles Line | Mick | Old Fitzroy Theatre |
| 2013 | The Secret River | Dan Oldfield | Sydney Theatre Company |
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