Hanako Footman (born 27 April 1994) is a British-Japanese actress and writer. She starred in the BBC Two sitcom ''

Defending the Guilty ''Defending the Guilty'' is a British television sitcom. It stars Will Sharpe and Katherine Parkinson as London barristers. The programme was broadcast in the United Kingdom from 19 September 2018 on BBC Two. The show was recommissioned for ...

'' (2018–2019).

Early life

Footman was born to a Japanese mother and an English-Irish father and grew up in Wimbledon, South London. She took a year-long foundation course at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).

Career

Footman made her television debut as Isabella in an episode of the 2012 ITV miniseries '' The Town''. She starred in the 2015 production of ''

Thyestes In Greek mythology, Thyestes (pronounced , gr, Θυέστης, ) was a king of Olympia. Thyestes and his brother, Atreus, were exiled by their father for having murdered their half-brother, Chrysippus, in their desire for the throne of Olym ...

'' at the

Courtyard Theatre, London The Courtyard is a theatre housed in the former public library (originally known as the Passmore Edwards Free Library) in Pitfield Street in Hoxton, London Borough of Hackney, England. It is a Grade II listed building. The Courtyard operates bo ...

and ''Modern Love'', which was put on in 2016 at

the Pleasance The Pleasance is a theatre, bar, sports and recreation complex in Edinburgh, Scotland, situated on a street of the same name. It is owned by the University of Edinburgh, and for nine months of the year it serves the Edinburgh University Stud ...

in London followed by a run at the

Etcetera Theatre The Etcetera Theatre is a fringe venue for theatre and comedy. It was founded in 1986 and is situated above The Oxford Arms pub in Camden Town, in the London Borough of Camden. The Theatre won the ''1996 Guinness Ingenuity Award for Pub Theatr ...

in Camden. She returned to television in 2017 when she guest starred as Lily in a season 2 episode of the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

historical drama ''

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

'', titled " A Company of Men". She also made her feature film debut in the indie horror ''An American Exorcism''. The following year, Footman appeared in the comedy horror film ''

Slaughterhouse Rulez ''Slaughterhouse Rulez'' is a 2018 comedy horror film directed by Crispian Mills. Written by Mills and Henry Fitzherbert, the film's cast features Asa Butterfield, Finn Cole, Hermione Corfield, Michael Sheen, with Nick Frost and Simon Pegg. ''S ...

'' and starred in the lead role of Pia in the BBC Two sitcom ''

''; the rest of the series aired in 2019. Also in 2019, she had film roles as Nicole Mowbray in

Gavin Hood Gavin Hood (born 12 May 1963) is a South African filmmaker, and actor, best known for writing and directing ''Tsotsi'' (2005), which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He also directed the films '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'', ...

's '' Official Secrets'' and Ruby in Jason Lei Howden's action-comedy ''

Guns Akimbo ''Guns Akimbo'' is a 2019 action comedy film written and directed by Jason Lei Howden. It stars Daniel Radcliffe, Samara Weaving, Ned Dennehy, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Grant Bowler, Edwin Wright, Rhys Darby, Milo Cawthorne, Richard Knowles, and ...

''. She made guest appearances in the E4 sitcom '' Dead Pixels'' and the Amazon Prime thriller '' Absentia'', and appeared in the Icelandic series ''

Stella Blómkvist ''Stella Blómkvist'' is an Icelandic crime television series which was first broadcast in 2017. It is produced by the Icelandic company Sagafilm. The show is loosely based on books of the same title by an anonymous Icelandic writer. The series wa ...

''. In 2022, Footman originated the character Devon in

Theresa Rebeck Theresa Rebeck (born February 19, 1958) is an American playwright, television writer, and novelist. Her work has appeared on the Broadway and Off-Broadway stage, in film, and on television. Among her awards are the Mystery Writers of America's ...

's play '' Mad House'' for its

David Harbour David Kenneth Harbour (born April 10, 1975) is an American actor. He has played supporting roles in films such as '' Brokeback Mountain'' (2005), '' Quantum of Solace'' (2008), '' State of Play'' (2009), '' The Green Hornet'' (2011), ''End o ...

-led world premiere and run at the Ambassadors Theatre, marking Footman's West End debut. She then appeared in ''Not Yet Midnight'', of the three translated plays featured in the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

's ''New Plays: Japan'' presentation in January 2023. Footman's debut novel ''Mongrel'' was longlisted for the 2021 Mo Siewcharran Prize and is set to be published in 2024 under Footnote Press.

Bibliography

* ''Mongrel'' (2024)

Filmography

Film

Television

Other

* "Girl Panic!" (2011) by Duran Duran (music video) * ''HUSH - Crane'' (2022), Alma (video game) *

Baldur's Gate 3 ''Baldur's Gate III'' is an upcoming role-playing video game developed and published by Larian Studios. It is the third main game in the ''Baldur's Gate'' series, which is itself based on the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' tabletop role-playing syste ...

(2023), Araj Oblodra (video game)

Stage

Audio

Notes

References

External links

*
Hanako Footman
at Spotlight {{DEFAULTSORT:Footman, Hanako Living people Actresses from London British actresses of Asian descent British Asian writers British women podcasters English people of Irish descent English people of Japanese descent English podcasters English women novelists Actors from the London Borough of Wandsworth Actors from Wimbledon, London Writers from London 1994 births