Jessie Buckley Overwhelmed by Oscar-Hopeful 'Hamnet' Role

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The film Hamnet, featuring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, is a powerful exploration of the full spectrum of human emotions, ranging from deep joy to profound sorrow. It begins with the story of young William Shakespeare falling in love with Agnes, who was historically known as Anne Hathaway, and continues to delve into the immense grief that strikes their family after a tragic event.

While the film touches on the sad origins of one of Shakespeare's most famous works, Hamlet, it does not reduce Agnes to just being the playwright's wife. Instead, she becomes the central figure of the narrative.

Buckley shared her thoughts with News, saying, "She was the full story of what I understand a woman to be. And their capacity as women, and as mothers, and as lovers, and as people who have a language unto their own beside gigantic men of literature like Shakespeare."

"It was honestly one of the biggest privileges of my life to live beside and inside this amazing woman, Agnes."

Hamnet is based on the critically acclaimed book of the same name by Maggie O'Farrell, published in 2020.

Jessie Buckley's breakthrough came in 2008 when she participated in the talent show I'd Do Anything, where she finished second in the search for an actress to play Nancy in a West End adaptation of Oliver Twist. Since then, she has received widespread acclaim for various roles.

She was Bafta-nominated for Wild Rose, where she portrayed an aspiring country singer, and Oscar-nominated for her role as a troubled mother in The Lost Daughter. In her latest film, the relationship between Agnes and her son Hamnet is central to the story, providing much of its emotional depth.

Buckley admitted she felt "conscious and scared" about whether she could portray the character and story "as honestly and bravely and humanly as possible." Her concerns were partly due to not having been a mother or having lost a child at the time.

"But," she added, "I know love, I know great love. And I think like with anything and with any of the women that I play or in any of the roles and the worlds that I enter, I'm just trying to get a little bit more human in what I understand of being alive."

Directed by Chloé Zhao, who won the Oscar for Best Director for Nomadland in 2021, Hamnet was adapted in collaboration with Maggie O'Farrell. The film also stars Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn, and Jacobi Jupe as Hamnet.

Critics have generally praised the film, with the Telegraph's Robbie Collin giving it a five-star review, stating that the adaptation "couldn't have been done any better." Kevin Maher of the Times called Buckley's performance "one of those performances that is for the ages," while The Wrap's Carla Renata described her as "nothing less than magical."

However, some critics had mixed reactions. Stephanie Zacharek of Time felt the film's emotional cues were too obvious, writing, "Zhao doesn't know how to take a less-is-more approach." Amy Nicholson of the LA Times concluded that "William Shakespeare wouldn't be wowed by this domestic drama about his home life back in Stratford-upon-Avon. Where's the action? The wit? The wordplay?"

If Agnes and her relationship with her son is at the emotional heart of the film, its physical heart is located at the Globe Theatre, where the first performance of Hamlet takes place, with Agnes at the front of the crowd pressed up against the stage.

The sequence, which took several days to film, was the most challenging scene for Buckley. She recalled, "I was not confident at all. I felt terrified. I felt totally overwhelmed leading up to it and even during it."

"For the first four days, I was completely lost. I felt untethered. I didn't know where to go, you know, and then I realized that's incredibly human to be lost, and that is absolutely Agnes' story to be lost."

"It was such a profound 10 days of being lost. There was a midwife on my right and there was another woman on my left. By day six they were crying, I was crying, I was holding them up."

She added, "There was a man behind me who said he hadn't cried for four years, and he was crying, and to feel that openness and bravery of humanity to need the play, need the story and reach out towards it was extraordinary."

There have been many exceptional female performances recently that are being considered for award recognition—Chase Infiniti in One Battle After Another, Renate Reinsve in Sentimental Value, Emma Stone in Bugonia. However, Jessie Buckley's portrayal of Agnes is seen by many as the current favorite for Best Actress at the Oscars in March.

Does this bring a sense of excitement or pressure for her? "I can't quite take what that question is right now," she replies carefully, before adding with a smile that if she and the other cast and crew make it to the big awards ceremonies of 2026, she will see it as a chance to celebrate the story and enjoy time with a team that became exceptionally close during filming.

"I'm so proud of this film. I'm so excited to share it with the world," she reflects. "And the greatest gift so far has been feeling the response that audiences have been feeling."

"You make it for an audience. And the rest is out of my, you know, I'm just going to get into the river," she laughs. "I hope we can all go and have a great office party."

Hamnet is released in UK cinemas on 9 January.

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