Jesse Buckley on why ‘Hamnet’ isn’t ‘grief porn’

Jessie Buckley is heading home, but there’s an obvious reason for the glow of excitement from her.

“I get to cuddle with my daughter for 12 hours on a plane,” she says, with the relief of someone who has been away from her bed for a long time. The Oscar-nominated actress has been traveling the world promoting Hamnet, Chloe Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s best-selling novel, giving a performance that many believe could finally win her an Academy Award.

In the film, Buckley portrays Agnes Shakespeare, the little-known wife of William Shakespeare, as she overcomes the devastating loss of her young son. This was a role that required the actress to tap into deep sadness. Less than a week after production ended, she found out she was pregnant. She insists that having a daughter in her life as a blessing would not have changed the way she took on this role.

“What I discovered with her (Agnes) was a ferocious tenderness that really kind of cracked the edges of the hard exterior of the people she loved,” Buckley said on the Variety Awards Circuit podcast. She added that kindness is not just softness, but rather an intersection of strength, empathy, and vulnerability.

This commanding performance has been the talk of the Oscar world since its premiere in Telluride, where audiences were visibly shaken and deeply moved by Buckley’s portrayal of the mother’s anguish. But she resists the idea that Hamnet is just “grief porn.”

“It was cathartic,” she says. “The last frame of Agnes’ smile is a release. It’s a relief. Something moves in this film, something changes.”

“Hamnet” represents an artistic and emotional evolution for Buckley, whose career began in an Irish reality singing competition before turning to stage and film. Her Oscar-nominated role in The Lost Daughter (2022) arrived at a time of creative burnout. She starred in the London production of “Cabaret,” while also having back-to-back film roles in “Men” and the Best Picture-nominated “Women Talking.” This time around, she feels more grounded and planned, channeling lessons from both motherhood and her character’s quiet resilience.

“I look at Agnes as a woman, and I look at Chloe as a woman and a woman director, and I’m so proud that there are women like Agnes out there,” Buckley expresses. That pride and the collaborative spirit behind it define Hamnet, a film that explores love, loss, and the power of imagination to sustain itself.

It also could be the deepest performance of Buckley’s career to date, and could earn him an Oscar.

In this episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, we break down Buckley’s role in Hamnet, the themes it explores, and what she looks for in film and television roles. The episode also features “Smashing Machine” star Emily Blunt. Listen below!

This interview has been edited and condensed.

What surprised you most about Agnes, actually living in her skin in “Hamnet”?

Even in Shakespeare, I don’t think we know anything about these people. No one has a clue. I always approach my characters as if they were strangers with whom I want to have the best romantic relationships, and I want to get to know them. What struck me most about her, or what appeared in me through her, was her kindness. I think I was looking for it. She is someone who lives by her beliefs of who she is. She does not compromise on her own attractive ideas. She is in her body and nature and works with medicine. Women’s strength tends to be seen as something hard, but what I felt was a ferocious gentleness that penetrated through that outer layer.

I was also surprised by his relationship with Will (Shakespeare). It was so progressive and confident. She realized that the landscape inside him was bigger than their small town. I discovered in her that you can hold on to something and let go at the same time, and that love can make it last.

You took this picture before you became a mother. Is your understanding of Agnes different now or is it the same?

I can’t even imagine what that feeling of loss feels like. All I could do was imagine with all my might. I am not a linear preparer or performer. I’m a bit of a magpie. I pull out things that help me figure out how to do things: colors, text, music, voice notes. Reading Nick Cave’s The Red Hand Files and Joan Didion helped me. Agnes was so connected to nature and to ancient things – her mother, her mother’s mother, and her daughter, that I tried to convey a sadness greater than myself. Now that I’m a mother, I can’t say I know better, only that I love more and my heart is more open. Living in kindness is scary because it requires strength, deep vulnerability, and empathy.

Please give a message to people who are hesitant to watch the movie because they don’t want to see their children die.

I’ve heard that in Telluride as well. People were saying, “I can’t go, I can’t attend the rest of the festival.” And I understand. But Chloe reminds us what storytelling is all about. In ancient times, stories were a vessel to help us work through emotions that we couldn’t handle ourselves. We have lived in escapism for a long time. We want a quick distraction, but this movie asks us to confront something deeper. It will be cathartic for those who watch it. Agnes’ final smile is the release. It’s not grief porn. It’s a movie about deep love. And if you really love something, you risk losing it. Don’t be afraid. It’s okay.

Could you go back to the morning you were nominated for an Oscar? What do you remember about that morning?

I was on my way to therapy. Honestly, I was very burnt out. We did “Men,” “Women Talking,” and “Cabaret.” I was exhausted both physically and mentally and had a hard time accepting it. Awards are powerful entities that attract many people around them. I was a little shy, probably because I was so tired. I am conscious of wanting to exist now. Wherever you are today, that’s enough.

This could be your Oscar-winning moment. What would you say to a 15-year-old girl who just got a TV about the possibilities?

I haven’t gotten to that point in my head yet. That 15-year-old girl will look at what we created with “Hamnet” and think, “Yeah, that’s what you wanted to do.” I didn’t think it was possible. Acting felt so far away. At that time Ireland was still very repressed. I look at Agnes and Chloe and am proud that women like Agnes are going into the world under Chloe’s guidance. I hope other 15-year-old girls see something of themselves in her, find that life force, and know that it’s not too much. That’s what’s important.

His “Focus Features” partner, Jesse Plemons, gives a great performance in “Bugonia.” You worked with him on I’m Thinking of Ending Things. How excited are you about his success this year?

We were kids when we made “I’m Thinking of Ending Things.” That movie was very important to me. It was the first time that language, thought, and creativity all collided. Jesse is an extraordinary person – he is singular. When you see him in Alex Garland’s Civil War for five minutes, he’s absolutely charming. In “Bugonia” he is simply wild and charming. No one else can create something like him.

How about working with Paul Mescal, the star of “Hamnet”?

I’ve been very fortunate with the men I’ve worked with. Paul is one of the most caring and strong people to work with. You feel like he has your back completely – no play. He deeply respects women. We both love Cassavetes and joked on set about being Gena Rowlands and John Cassavetes, or Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. I know we can work together again.

Any thoughts on AI “actress” Tilly Norwood?

I just don’t think it will work. It may be fun for a while, but people will starve for humanity. There’s no way I can win.

Which director would you most like to work with right now?

Leos Carax and Paolo Sorrentino. That’s amazing.

Finish the sentence: Agnes taught me…

…Please be kind.

Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tunkay, Emily Longeretta, Jenelle Riley, and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop destination for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode’s “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talents and creators, discussions and debates about the awards race and industry headlines. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you download your podcasts.