Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
We’re just beginning to embrace the full force of our latest streaming obsession, Marvel’s Luke Cage. Staring Mike Colter, the 13-episode superhero series masterfully explores race, societal injustice, and kicking all sorts of bad guy butt at the hands of its titular invincible hero. However, Colter’s Cage wouldn’t seem as authentically vulnerable if it wasn’t for one of the driving forces behind his angst, Parisa Fitz-Henley.
Fitz-Henley plays Reva Conners, Cage’s late wife. The actor tackles her role with the perfect blend of composure, sadness, and light to make her character the fading moralistic center of this bleak series. Much like how Colter’s quiet presence exudes conflict and power, Reva’s always too-brief scenes exude acceptance and complexity, and her romance with Luke is heart-breaking. Between her haunting role on Luke Cage and her upcoming leading part on Midnight, Texas, NBC’s upcoming supernatural drama from True Blood author Charlaine Harris,Fitz-Henley will be blowing up soon. To introduce you to this dynamic acting force, we’ve put together a cheat sheet on one of our new favorite Marvel actors. Consider this your rom-com “meet cute” to Fitz-Henley’s work, but don’t worry. We won’t rat you out to Luke Cage.
Grey’s Anatomy (2007)
Though Fitz-Henley has only been on two episodes of Shonda Rhimes’ beloved medical drama, she made the most of her time on screen. In “The Other Side of This Life: Part 1” and “In Which Addison Has A Very Casual Get Together,” the actress plays Cami Davis, the new wife of Violet’s (Amy Brenneman) ex-boyfriend Allen. The whole encounter between the two women was one insult after another, from Cami’s decision to go to Grace Mercy in the first place to the bladder infection she had from having too much sex. Scandal.
[Where to watch Grey’s Anatomy]
The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)
In this romantic drama about the power of Austen, Fitz-Henley plays Corinne, Allegra’s partner. You may remember Allegra (Maggie Grace) as the young thrill-seeking connection to Sense & Sensibility who felt betrayed after her girlfriend used Allegra’s life as the basis of her short stories. Yep, that betraying lover was our girl, and her literary deception made us both feel for her and the difficult Allegra.
[Where to watch The Jane Austen Book Club]
Bluebird (2013)
Starring Margo Martindale, John Slattery, and Adam Driver this drama focuses on how one school bus driver’s momentary distraction causes a near-tragedy that nearly destroys an entire community. Critically praised and called “quietly affecting,” Fitz-Henley stars in the indie film as Charlotte.
Marvel’s Jessica Jones (2015)
Though her role on Jessica Jones was brief, it certainly was impactful [Spoilers head]. Fitz-Henley tackled the role of Reva Conners, Luke Cage’s wife who was killed at the hands of Killgrave and Jessica Jones. The actress’ calm but poignant performance was as haunting to watch as the character’s death continues to be for our hero.
[Where to watch Marvel’s Jessica Jones]
Marvel’s Luke Cage (2016)
We wanted to know more about Luke Cage and this world of city-dwelling superheroes, and we got it. Fitz-Henley has reprised her role as Reva Conners in Netflix’s new series. Though we only see Reva in flashbacks, she still continues to deliver a powerful performance in every scene she’s in, making us miss her almost as much as Luke does.
