“I spend most of my time changing diapers” (Exclusive)

Jessie Buckley is juggling a career high with an even bigger milestone: becoming a new mom.

Speaking to PEOPLE at the New York premiere of her new film Hamnet on Friday, Nov. 21, the 35-year-old Irish actress said she’s “just trying to be” in the moment. “I’m also a new mom, so most of the time I’m changing diapers and doing things like this,” she added.

Hamnet, a collaboration between director Chloé Zhao and co-writer Maggie O’Farrell, who wrote the hit 2020 novel on which it is based, stars Buckley as Agnes Shakespeare, the wife of the famous British playwright played by Paul Mescal. This period drama, produced by Steven Spielberg, depicts the life of a married couple living in the countryside with their three children, including their son Hamnet, the inspiration for Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy Hamlet.

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“I’m really proud to be able to put this movie out there, and I’m so happy that it’s been received this way,” Buckley told PEOPLE with a smile. “So creating something is a win. Anything else is redundant.”

Other praise could include more praise for Buckley, who received an Academy Award nomination for his role in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s 2021 drama The Lost Daughter, as awards season approaches. When asked about the ongoing Oscar buzz, the actress said, “I still don’t fully understand how I feel about it.”

“I don’t think any of us take our jobs for granted, and so much extraordinary work has been created,” Buckley added. “I’m just going to sit back and feel it out, step into the river and see what happens.”

Buckley kept details about becoming new parents private. The Men star revealed on a January 2024 episode of Jesse and Lenny Ware’s podcast Table Manners that she married a man named Freddie. In an interview with The New York Times in August 2025, she admitted that she was pregnant.

Joe Alwyn, Emily Watson, and brothers Noah and Jacobi Jupe co-star in Hamnet. “It was very bright on set,” Buckley tells PEOPLE about the shoot. “I think we all went into it with intention, but with the lightest touch, and we just loved each other, you know, we were really like a family.”

She added that the cast and Ms. Chao, 43, “had a lot of laughs.” “Among other things” are the darker parts of the Shakespeare family story. “That’s why I felt so alive.”

Buckley’s upcoming projects include co-directing with Gyllenhaal, 48, and starring alongside Christian Bale in The Bride!. The gothic drama will be released in theaters on March 6, 2026.

“Hamnet” will be released in select theaters on November 27th and nationwide on December 12th.