3 minute readrundown
Jessie Buckley, widely considered a front-runner for this year’s Best Actress Oscar, added to her trophy collection tonight by winning Best Performance by an Actress for Hamnet.
In his acceptance speech, Buckley spoke of the great privilege it is to work with his SAG-AFTRA colleagues for a living. “Many people in this room and beyond have forever changed me,” Buckley began. “What a way to spend your life, to go to work with your heart in your hands, and to stand beside bright and bold friends who show their heart to you!”
She also named her co-star Emily Watson, who inspired her to pursue the profession in the 1996 film Breaking the Waves, in which Watson played a young Scottish woman.
“Your wild imagination, your brave, unbridled femininity, your fierce kindness are a guiding light to me,” she told Watson and the audience. “And the best advice you always give me is to always go back to the well of being human. Ground zero, baby. You’re the most real of the real.”
Jesse Buckley hugs Emily Watson at the Actor’s Awards ceremony.
Emily Watson, Paul Mescal, Chloe Zhao, and Jesse Buckley attended the 32nd Annual Actor Awards Ceremony.
Read her full speech below.
I want to take a moment to look at all these incredibly moving faces and souls in front of me. I have been forever changed by many people in this room and beyond. What a way to spend your life, going to work with your heart in your hands and standing next to smart and bold friends who show their heart! thank you.
I would like to give a special thank you to you, my wonderful friend and tonight’s date Emily Watson. I saw “Breaking the Waves” and said to myself, “That’s what I want to do.” I will cherish being able to share that scene with everyone at Hamnet for the rest of my life. Your wild imagination, brave, unbridled femininity, and fierce kindness are a guiding light for me. And the best advice you always give me is to always go back to the wellspring of just being human. Ground zero, baby. You are the most authentic of the real. I love and value being a part of this community. I hope to continue to provide something meaningful. thank you very much. This is a great privilege.
Buckley’s performance was recognized this year at the BAFTAs, Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards in the same category. The star, who was also one of ELLE’s Women in Hollywood this year’s awards season, spoke in an interview about Hamnett’s message about love and grief.
“I love love,” she said. “Love is worth it. What else are you going to do? Lock yourself away? I think you have to live. Hamnet[the character’s son]lives on even when he dies.[William]Shakespeare somehow immortalized something and created a way for this story, this son, this event that happened in his life to become bigger than that moment. Maybe we just have to live like that.”
She spoke further about the emotions behind love and sadness, pointing out that they are not one color. “There’s anger. There’s shards of broken glass. That’s love, that’s what it’s all about. Stories help you work through things that are inside you that you don’t know how to get out.”
Learn more about Jesse Buckley
