Buckley’s dramatic rise from BBC talent search to the Golden Globes

Hollywood loves a victorious underdog narrative and they found it in Jessie Buckley, the actor from Killarney in County Kerry, who won Best Actress for Hamnet at the 83rd Golden Globes last night.

Buckley, 36, plays William Shakespeare’s wife in Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel about the death of the Bard’s beloved son. In her speech, she thanked a camera grip who brought his homemade soup to set – “it was delicious” – and reflected on the film’s diverse makeup. 

The production was extraordinary, she said, because while it told the story of “probably the most famous Brit that ever lived”, it was made by a Chinese director, with a largely Polish crew, alongside an Irish and British “family”.

Hamnet also took home Best Drama last night. And another British show, Adolescence, about a teenage boy who murders his female classmate, won four prizes including best limited series.

Erin Doherty, who played a therapist in Adolescence, dedicated her win for Best Supporting Actress to shrinks. “Life can be tough, mental health is everything", she said, “so thank you to therapists and it was an honour to play one”.

O’Farrell joined the Hamnet cast and crew on stage for their win. She told Radio 4 they were “kind of a family” and was thrilled with Zhao’s casting of Buckley. “She is a dream Agnes, she does an incredible job inhabiting that character," she said.

Buckley was rejected by the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London before appearing as a teenager on the BBC talent show I’d Do Anything, where she finished runner-up in a search for a Nancy in Oliver! The experience was punishing. “I hope young women are never again brutalised quite like what happened on that show,” she told Vogue.

She trained at Rada and has steadily built her success on stage and screen, earning acclaim for performances in Wild Rose, Tom Harper’s film about a Glasgow country singer, The Lost Daughter, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s adaption of Elena Ferrante’s psychological thriller, and as Sally Bowles opposite Eddie Redmayne in the 2021 West End revival of Cabaret, for which she won an Olivier Award.

In Hamnet, Buckley delivers a challenging performance as Agnes Hathaway. The visceral childbirth scenes and her expressions of grief after losing her only son were praised. Wendy Ide, The Observer’s film critic, called her a “force of nature” in the film. Her father, Tim Buckley, told the Irish Independent last week: “She makes me and the country proud.”

The other big winners of the night were Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, a dark comedy thriller loosely based on a Thomas Pynchon novel. Anderson’s film won four of the top prizes, including Best Musical or Comedy and Best Director.

And, following an exhausting awards campaign, Timothee Chalamet took home Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for Marty Supreme, a film about a table-tennis champion which turned into an online phenomenon. After five Golden Globe nominations, this was Chalamet’s first win.

The Golden Globes winners often serve as indicators for the rest of the awards season. The BAFTAs air on 22 February, followed by the Oscars on 15 March.

Full winners list:

FILM

Best Motion Picture – Drama

Hamnet

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

One Battle After Another

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Jessie Buckley, Hamnet

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another

Best Director – Motion Picture

Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another

Best Animated Film

KPop Demon Hunters

Best Non-English Language Film

The Secret Agent

Best Original Score – Motion Picture

Ludwig Göransson, Sinners

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

Golden, KPop Demon Hunters

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement

Sinners

TELEVISION

Best Television Series – Drama

The Pitt

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy

The Studio

Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama

Noah Wyle, The Pitt

Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama

Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus

Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Seth Rogen, The Studio

Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Jean Smart, Hacks

Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Movie

Adolescence

Best Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Movie

Stephen Graham, Adolescence

Best Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Movie

Michelle Williams, Dying for Sex

Best Supporting Actor on Television

Owen Cooper, Adolescence

Best Supporting Actress on Television

Erin Doherty, Adolescence

Photograph by Kevork Djansezian/CBS via Getty Images