“Hamnet” star Jessie Buckley won the Oscar for best actress at Sunday night’s Academy Awards, becoming the first Irish actress to win the prize.
Buckley’s win was perhaps the only lock in an increasingly unpredictable awards race. After all, she swept all the best actress prizes at the major ceremonies, including SAG-AFTRA’s Actor Awards, the BAFTAs, the Critics Choice awards and the Golden Globes. Her streak culminated at the 98th Oscars ceremony, held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien, who returned as emcee for the second year in a row.
Buckley was nominated alongside Rose Byrne (“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”), Kate Hudson (“Song Sung Blue”), Renate Reinsve (“Sentimental Value”) and Emma Stone (“Bugonia”). This was Buckley’s second Oscar nomination; she was previously nominated for the best supporting actress prize for “The Lost Daughter.”
In “Hamnet,” directed by Oscar winner Chloé Zhao, Buckley portrays Agnes, a woman who falls in love with a poor Latin tutor named William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal), who goes on to become the famed playwright. The historical fiction film follows as the couple wed and have three children, but tragedy strikes when their only son, 11-year-old Hamnet, dies from the plague. As the movie explores the family’s grief over the devastating loss and how the tragedy inspired Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet,” Buckley’s raw, emotional performance captivated audiences.
The Focus Features film earned eight nominations at this year’s Oscars, including best picture, best director (Zhao) and best adapted screenplay (Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell), as well as nods for best original score, casting, costume design and production design.
“Hamnet” debuted at the Telluride Film Festival last August, where Buckley’s performance was immediately hailed as an Oscar contender. The movie marked a breakthrough moment for the star, who’d already delivered masterful performances in “Women Talking” and “Wild Rose.” Just before Oscars Sunday, Buckley’s latest film, “The Bride!” — a reunion with her “The Lost Daughter” director Maggie Gyllenhaal — debuted in theaters. Next, she’ll star in Alice Rohrwacher’s “Three Incestuous Sisters,” opposite Dakota Johnson, Saoirse Ronan and Josh O’Connor.
See the full winners list here.
Love Film & TV?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in music, film and TV in Australia and abroad.
From Variety US