She\u2019s come a long way from Killarney, but Jessie Buckley\u2019s march through Hollywood continues apace.<\/p>\n
Will the Kerrywoman be bringing home a golden statuette from the Oscars ceremony for her performance in Hamnet? Time will tell… Until then, here are ten of her best roles.<\/p>\n
10. FINGERNAILS (2023)<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re a fan of the sort of ‘romantic dramedy\u2019 sphere that films like Yorgos Lanthimos\u2019s The Lobster inhabit, you\u2019ll enjoy Fingernails (and incidentally, we wait with baited breath for that Buckley\/Lanthimos collaboration. It has to happen someday.) Fingernails saw her play Anna, a woman who works in a company called Love Institute that tests couples\u2019 fingernails to find out if they\u2019re really in love – throwing her into a complex situation with her boyfriend (Jeremy Allen White) and her co-worker (Riz Ahmed). A charming film that was overlooked by many, it proved that Buckley could do quirky rom-coms, too.<\/p>\n
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9. CABARET (2021)<\/p>\n
These days, she is most likely to be found in film or TV roles, but Jessie Buckley first came to prominence in musical theatre (via BBC talent show I\u2019d Do Anything in 2008). She returned to the stage in 2021, playing Sally Bowles in Cabaret at London\u2019s Playhouse Theatre alongside Eddie Redmayne\u2019s Emcee, reportedly after Redmayne had begged her to take the role. Reviews described her performance as “something supreme” and “a powerhouse of emotion”, and she subsequently picked up an Olivier Award for Best Actress.<\/p>\n
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8. WICKED LITTLE LETTERS (2023)<\/p>\n
They both starred as the same character in The Lost Daughter (see below) but Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley finally got to share a scene in Thea Sharrock\u2019s delightful comedy-mystery – and it so happens that they bounce off each other magnificently while playing adversaries. Set in 1920, Buckley played Rose Gooding, a young Irish woman who is accused of sending her pious neighbour Edith Swan (Colman) vulgar poison pen letters. When she is jailed for the crime, it becomes a national sensation – but of course, there is a twist to the tale. A nice change of pace amid the dramas.<\/p>\n
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7. MEN (2022)<\/p>\n
She has featured in a multitude of genres, from comedy to drama – but it turns out that Jessie Buckley is particularly effective in the folk-horror niche. In Alex Garland\u2019s eerie 2022 film, she plays Harper Marlowe – a recently-widowed woman who retreats to a small rural English village to recuperate. There, she is plagued by a series of \u2018men\u2019 – all of whom have the same face (portrayed by Rory Kinnear) – as she is forced to confront her trauma while realising she cannot outrun it. Brilliantly creepy stuff.<\/p>\n
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6. WOMEN TALKING (2022)<\/p>\n
Sarah Polley\u2019s Oscar-nominated drama was well-received across the board, but Buckley\u2019s performance was particularly lauded. She played Mariche Loewen, one of a group of women in a remote Mennonite community who realised that they have been subjected to gas-facilitated rapes by men in the colony (the film was based on a real-life story in Bolivia in the noughties) and who hold a meeting to decide how to proceed – leave or do nothing. It was a tricky role to navigate, but she did so with style.<\/p>\n
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5. CHERNOBYL (2019)<\/p>\n
We have seen her talent for accents in various roles, but in the hugely affecting Chernobyl TV mini-series – which documented the aftermath of the nuclear explosion in 1986 – she even pulled off a Ukrainian cadence with panache. Buckley played Lyudmila Ignatenko, a pregnant woman whose firefighter husband Vasily was one of the real-life first responders to the disaster. Their storyline was particularly heartbreaking as it showed the impact of the disaster on normal people, and Buckley\u2019s portrait of a woman bereft was devastating.<\/p>\n
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4. WILD ROSE (2018)<\/p>\n
Buckley\u2019s leading role in Tom Harper\u2019s 2018 film was the one that truly set her on the path to stardom. She was superb as Rose-Lynn Harlan, a single mother in Glasgow who has just been released from a prison stint to find her dreams of becoming a country singer have evaporated. When she takes a cleaning job at a wealthy woman\u2019s house, it seems that her fortunes have changed – or have they? Not only did she portray Rose-Lynn with the perfect balance of inner turmoil and humour, she also had the opportunity to parade her incredible voice. If that scene in the Ryman Auditorium doesn\u2019t give you goosebumps\u2026<\/p>\n
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3. THE LOST DAUGHTER (2021)<\/p>\n
Her latest collaboration with Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Bride!, may be dividing critics – but Gyllenhaal\u2019s directorial debut in 2021 was roundly acclaimed. She starred alongside Olivia Colman, Paul Mescal and Dakota Johnson, playing the young version of Colman\u2019s character Leda in this affecting psychological drama based on Elena Ferrante\u2019s novel, which explores motherhood and the complexities of human relationships. It earned her a multitude of Supporting Actress nominations and awards – including her first Oscar nomination.<\/p>\n
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2. FARGO (2020)<\/p>\n
Dark comedies? She\u2019s nailed those, too. Buckley had a leading role in the fourth season of Fargo, playing Oraetta Mayflower, perhaps one of the darkest characters she has ever portrayed. At surface-level, Mayflower is a caring nurse – but underneath the nice-as-pie exterior lies an unhinged woman with a murderous mind. From her body language and movement to her top-notch Minnesota accent, Buckley was absolutely outstanding. Bring on more \u2018baddie\u2019 roles.<\/p>\n
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1. HAMNET (2025)<\/p>\n
There can really only be one role at number one. Chloe Zhao\u2019s adaptation of Maggie O\u2019Farrell\u2019s 2020 novel centered Agnes Hathaway in the story about Shakespeare and their son Hamnet, and she needed an actor who was able to carry such an unusual, multifaceted character in what is a heavy story. Thankfully, she found one in Buckley. That one scene – if you\u2019ve seen it, you\u2019ll know – where Agnes\u2019s grief and anguish is laid bare in the midst of tragedy truly demonstrated her capacity as a performer. And Oscar in her grip or not, it\u2019s a role that comprehensively confirmed Buckley as one of our finest actors.<\/p>\n
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