The “transcending” performance that inspired Jessie Buckley to be an actor
Having won every other major prize in the build-up to the 2026 Academy Awards ceremony, amongst all the speculation, Jessie Buckley taking home the top prize in the ‘Best Actress’ category for her heartrending performance in Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet was never in doubt, and sure enough, when the final envelope was opened, it held her name.
Born the eldest of five children, it was the culmination of a remarkable journey for the Irishwoman, who was first introduced to the stage through the world of musicals.
She appeared in a number of productions at her all-girls school, which meant she often had to play male roles, such as Tony in West Side Story, expanding her range, but more importantly, musical theatre helped her overcome a teenage eating disorder, and it was what inspired her to follow her acting dreams.
She first rose to fame in the UK on I’d Do Anything, a TV talent show that offered the winner the chance to play Nancy in a West End revival of Oliver!, where an 18-year-old Buckley came second, losing out to Jodie Prenger, and no offence to her, but I don’t see Ms Prenger carrying an Oscar.
Speaking to Elle, Buckley revealed there was one moment in particular that solidified her ambition. She remembered watching Dame Judi Dench’s rendition of ‘Send in the Clowns’ at the Royal Variety Performance when she was a teenager, and in her words, this was the first time she had watched an actor and thought, “How did she do that?”
“She sat on a stool, and there was just a spotlight,” the star recalled, “She had normal clothes on, and it’s such a simple song. I must have been about 14 when I first saw her. And I would watch it on repeat, and it would break my heart. I couldn’t contain how huge it was, the amount of feeling that she was expressing through my little YouTube channel in my home in Kerry, in Ireland, and how it was transcending, transporting me to her experience.”
‘Send in the Clowns’ was originally written by the legendary Stephen Sondheim specifically for the actor Glynis Johns, who you probably know as the mum from Mary Poppins, as a part of the musical A Little Night Music and is sung by the character of Desirée, as she reflects on the many loves and losses of her life, with Dench first playing Desirée in a 1995 revival of the show in London.
She won a coveted Olivier award for her work, one of seven she has scooped across her incredible career. I couldn’t find any footage of her performing the song at the Royal Variety Performance, but it’s possible that Buckley could have been referring to the 1998 Royal Charity Gala, a clip of which you can watch below.
In 2015, Buckley was cast in Kenneth Branagh’s production of The Winter’s Tale at London’s Garrick Theatre, alongside the same Judi Dench who blew her socks off all those years ago. This must have been a dream come true for the young star, and hopefully, she didn’t pester her colleague too much.
