Film
In her film debut Species (1995), Henstridge played Sil, a genetically engineered alien/human hybrid created from a message received by SETI, who breaks free from the captivity of a laboratory. Pursued by a team of experts who band together to stop her, she embarks on a killing spree while also discovering her powerful instinct to mate, which would result in her offspring being a threat to mankind. [5] Species was an instant hit, making US$113 million at the box office. [6] Notable for its sexual content, the film won Henstridge the MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss for a scene in which her character, while kissing an abusive date, impales his head with her tongue. In 1998, she played Eve, a more ambiguous genetic duplicate of Sil, in Species II , which was a failure at the box office. Between Species films, Henstridge starred in two low-budget action films in 1996, Adrenalin: Fear the Rush with Christopher Lambert and Maximum Risk opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme. [5]
A few smaller independent movies followed, including Bela Donna and Dog Park , with varied box-office returns. Henstridge starred in the film The Whole Nine Yards (2000) and its sequel The Whole Ten Yards (2004). Despite having some reservations about the science-fiction genre, she signed up for John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars (2001) in the lead role of Lieutenant Melanie Ballard. The film was not well received, with a 20% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. [7] In 2004, she briefly appeared as Eve in Species III .
In 2007, Henstridge was a festival judge at the first annual Noor Iranian Film Festival.
Television
Henstridge has played a number of roles on television, for example in Caracara and The Outer Limits . From 2005 to 2006, she had a recurring role as the speaker's chief of staff on the ABC drama Commander in Chief , which starred Geena Davis as a fictional female U.S. president. She also hosted Mostly True Stories: Urban Legends Revealed on TLC, a show about urban legends. She guest-starred as a substitute teacher in the first-season South Park episode "Tom's Rhinoplasty", and was credited as "the chick from Species".
Henstridge was working on the television series She Spies , prior to its cancellation. She has also completed a television movie for the Lifetime channel titled Widow on the Hill. In 2006, she filmed the CTV original miniseries Would Be Kings in Hamilton, Ontario, [8] for which she won a Gemini Award. [9] She also starred in the expansion set to the video game Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars , entitled Kane's Wrath . [10]
In 2008, Henstridge played a role on the ABC comedy-drama series Eli Stone . She has also been involved with two other productions, joining the cast of Dave Rodriguez's Anytown , an indie drama that examines a racist high-school attack and its aftermath. She has also been involved with the production of Should've Been Romeo from American Independent Pictures.
In 2009, Henstridge did a guest spot on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. During this, she demonstrated a Newfoundland custom called "screeching in", which involved getting O'Brien to drink Newfoundland Screech rum and kiss a large fish. [11]
In 2011, she appeared on the season-9 finale and season-10 premiere of CSI: Miami as Renee Locklear. She then starred in the CW television series The Secret Circle as Dawn Chamberlain.
From 2019 to 2022, she starred in the CBC Television/BET+ drama series Diggstown . [2]
