Jessie Buckley, the star of Hamnet, won the Oscar for best actress at Sunday night’s Academy Awards, making history as the first Irish actress to receive the prestigious honour.
This marked Buckley’s second Oscar nomination. She was previously nominated in the best supporting actress category for her performance in The Lost Daughter.
Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao’s historical drama Hamnet has emerged as one of the most talked-about films of the awards season, with Jessie Buckley delivering a deeply emotional performance that has captivated audiences and critics alike.
In the film, Buckley portrays Agnes, a woman whose life becomes intertwined with a young and struggling Latin tutor named William Shakespeare, played by Paul Mescal. Their romance blossoms despite humble beginnings and eventually leads to marriage and the birth of their three children. However, the family’s happiness is shattered when their only son, 11-year-old Hamnet, dies after contracting the plague.
Set in Elizabethan England, the film traces the profound grief experienced by the family following the tragic loss. The narrative also explores how the devastating event shaped Shakespeare’s emotional world and ultimately inspired the creation of his iconic play Hamlet. Buckley’s portrayal of Agnes is raw, intimate and emotionally resonant, capturing a mother’s anguish with remarkable depth.
Produced by Focus Features, the film has received widespread critical acclaim and strong recognition during the awards circuit. At this year’s Academy Awards, Hamnet secured eight nominations, including best picture and best director for Zhao. Zhao also earned a nomination for best adapted screenplay alongside author Maggie O’Farrell, whose bestselling novel inspired the film. Additional nominations came in categories such as best original score, casting, costume design and production design.
To her husband, Freddie Sorensen, who looked on in tears from the Hamnet section, she said: “I love you, man. I love you. You’re the most incredible dad. You’re my best friend, and I want to have 20,000 more babies with you.” Their eight-month-old daughter wasn’t in the auditorium, but Buckley made sure to mention her onstage, joking that the little girl likely “has no idea what’s going on and is probably dreaming of milk,” but her mother winning an Oscar is “kind of a big deal.”
The film first premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in August last year, where Buckley’s performance immediately generated strong Oscar buzz. Critics widely described her portrayal as one of the most compelling performances of the year, further cementing her reputation as one of contemporary cinema’s most versatile actors.
Before Hamnet, Buckley had already gained acclaim for her performances in films such as Women Talking and Wild Rose.
Just ahead of Oscars Sunday, Buckley’s latest film The Bride!, a reunion with her The Lost Daughter director Maggie Gyllenhaal, premiered in theatres. Looking ahead, Buckley is also set to appear in Alice Rohrwacher’s upcoming project “Three Incestuous Sisters,” sharing the screen with Dakota Johnson, Saoirse Ronan and Josh O’Connor.
