The rise of Jessie Buckley – from reality TV to Hamnet and Oscar history | Ent News & Arts

In an incredibly unpredictable Oscar race, there was only one moment the experts agreed on — Jessie Buckley, on stage once again, to collect the award for best actress.

Big awards start with a Critics Choice Awards in January. The Golden Globes followed, then the BAFTAs, and most recently, a statuette at the Actor Awards.

Buckley is the only acting nominee to take home all four awards this year, and he has also won other, smaller awards. That Oscarapparently, hers was the loser.

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Gold Derby, the LA-based authority on awards predictions, rates his odds of winning as almost unbeatable at 97%. “It’s been a crazy, unprecedented awards season,” said Debra Birnbaum, the site’s editor-in-chief. But Buckley, he said, “is a sure thing…a pretty safe bet.”

If Buckley wins, she will make history – the first Irish actress to take home the award.

The 36-year-old is known for her role as Agnes, Shakespeare’s wife in Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet. The film chronicles the couple’s grief following the death of their young son, and puts the poet, played by Paul Mescal, in the backseat as Agnes’ story takes center stage. Buckley’s raw and emotional performance has moved audiences to tears.

Among her many Oscar nominees, including two-time winner Emma Stone, critics voted her “one of the best actresses of her generation.”

“To be in the room with all those incredible artists, for me, is the greatest thing,” Buckley told Sky News last month, speaking about his awards and nominations. “That and being a mother.”

The actress gave birth to her first child, a girl, last year, and she has so far paid tribute to her in her speeches. “I wanted to share this with my daughter,” she said of her BAFTA. “I promise to continue disobeying so that you can be a part of the world in all its complex madness and wildness as a young woman.”

This is Buckley’s second Oscar nomination; her first was best supporting actress, for her performance in The Lost Daughter starring Olivia Colman in 2022. She also starred in another Oscar-nominated film, like Woman Talkingwith Rooney Mara and Claire Foy, and Judy, with Renee Zellweger, and won several awards for her starring performance in the West End revival of Cabaret.

But he’s been quietly honing his talent since he was young, growing up in Killarney, Co Kerry. Her fame increased when she was a teenager, appearing on the BBC reality show I’d Do Anything, which sought to find an unknown lead to play Nancy in a revival of the musical Oliver! in the West End, in 2008.

Buckley came in second, but continued to pursue his love of stage and screen. He then appeared in series including Taboo and The Last Post, before breakthrough roles in the British film Beast and Wild Rose, and the critically acclaimed HBO/Sky series Chernobyl.

Back in 2019, when Wild Rose was released, Buckley said he grew up without a TV at home until she was “about eight or nine years old”, and her first experience of wanting to act was watching “Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland films… it was like my mind exploded into some kind of magic”.

Now, not only has he received the highest honor for his on-screen achievements, but he has also been shortlisted for the Mercury Prize – shortlisted in 2022 for his collaborative album For All Our Days That Tear The Heart, with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler.

‘You can’t take your eyes off him’

For those who knew him at Ursuline High School, in Co Tipperary, his success came as no surprise. Music teacher Joan Butler, who joined the school in 2006, Buckley’s senior year, said it was clear he would go on to great things.

“We are so proud of all of our students here, but Jessie stands out…even as she begins her career path, as someone with a very special talent,” he said. “He was in a production of West Side Story my first year of teaching… Fascinating is the word we use here because we’ve talked about it and remembered his time here.

“You couldn’t take your eyes off Jessie on stage or when she was singing or even at the piano. It’s a very, very rare star quality. I still remember I was playing violin in the orchestra pit, looking up at the stage… the whole room stopped, mouths open, watching this rehearsal. And I remember turning to some of the students and going, watching her girls, she’s going to win an Oscar someday.”

Now, Buckley can very well make that dream come true.

After seeing the actress tackle physically and emotionally demanding scenes during the filming of Hamnet, the cast and crew said it was incredible to see her hard work and talent recognized.

Hamnet set decorator Alice Felton, who was also nominated for an Oscar, was nominated in the production design category, saying they were “all in tears” watching Buckley accept his award.

“Because we watched him throughout the film, putting his heart and soul into it,” he said. “We would cry on the edge of the set before the music came on, before it was all over.

“He was a beautiful person. He gave everything to the role and he was part of the team. He used to sleep in a bed in the attic.” [in their house in the film]. So I would go up to fix the set and he would take a nap. He’s just living in space and we’re all very happy for him.”

Irish stars show support in LA

In Los Angeles, ahead of each year’s Oscar ceremony, the US-Ireland Alliance hosts the Oscar Wilde Awards, celebrating Irish talent.

They’ve had a lot on their plate in recent years, including nine nominations for The Banshees Of Inisherin (starring another former Ursuline pupil, Kerry Condon) in 2023. And in 2024, Cillian Murphy becomes the first Irish star to win best actorfor his performance in Oppenheimer.

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This year, Buckley is the guy everyone is talking about.

Gleeson, who co-stars in animated Christmas special The Scarecrows’ Wedding, told Sky News: “We’ve celebrated Jessie Buckley.

“He’s an absolutely incredible actor. He’s so amazing in this film and I would be so happy if he won. But we celebrate all the time.”

Singer-songwriter Dermot Kennedy also highlighted Buckley’s musical talents. “I think most people don’t realize what a great singer he is,” he said. “He’s a very talented guy, so we’re really excited for him.”

And speaking at the premiere of Peaky Blinders earlier this month, Murphy himself showed his support. “He’s amazing,” he told Sky News. “I’m so happy for him, he was amazing in that film.”

For young students at Ursuline who hope to follow in Buckley’s footsteps, the actress is an inspiration.

“We’re also really excited to see what happens after this,” Ms Butler said. “A big thank you to him for all he has done in inspiring our students and showing them what they can do.”