It is Women’s History Month so it’s only appropriate that I pick a woman for this month’s HMDYK topic. I am going really obscure this month. You may recognize the person in the picture but you’re probably wondering where you may have seen her face in Star Wars. I will get to that shortly. In the meantime, how much do you know about Shirley Henderson?
Of Wands and Droids
The most surprising detail I found about Shirley Henderson is that she is 56 years old (at the time of this writing)! She was born in 1965 in the village of Kincardine in Fife, Scotland. Before I delve into her filmography, I’m going to get the obscurity out of the way. You may have figured out by now how this actor is connected to Star Wars (because of the banner). Shirley Henderson is the voice for the adorable Babu Frik (from The Rise of Skywalker)! A male character doesn’t always have to be voiced by a male actor, take Bart Simpson for example.
I do not expect too many people to know her as the voice of Babu Frik, but I’m sure you all do recognize her from another franchise. She is Moaning Myrtle from Harry Potter. The first appearance of Moaning Myrtle was 20 years ago. This means Shirley Henderson would have been 36 when she portrayed a deceased 14 year old. Gotta love CG.
She’s Not In That Frozen
She has had other roles beyond a dead, teenage witch and a shifty, adorable droid mechanic. She’s Jude in all three Bridget Jones movies. The more interesting role is the lead in a (not-Olaf version) film called Frozen. In fact she was nominated and/or won for her performance at various film festivals. While it is a mediocre score on IMDB, I’m still inclined to watch this movie. I’ve checked out other movies for similar reasons and been very surprised.
She’s been in one episode of Doctor Who (and any appearance in Doctor Who is worth mentioning!). She has about 89 credits (at the time of this writing) but, unfortunately, I don’t really recognize most of them. I suspect (but did not confirm) most of them are probably UK series.
If you there is a show or movie you’ve seen her in that you enjoyed, please leave a comment and perhaps I will check it out.
/MTFBWY