Jessie Buckley may be one of the frontrunners at the Oscars this March, despite an awards season packed with stiff competition, but she still faced resistance to landing her new leading role.
So much so that she’s described herself as the ‘least bankable’ in terms of performer options – and it’s crazy that that’s the way the industry seemingly works.
The Irish actress, 36, has stunned critics with her raw turn as Anne Hathaway (styled as ‘Agnes’) in Chloe Zhao’s heartbreaking Hamnet, an adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s best-selling novel.
And so much so that she’s now the bookmakers’ favourite to clinch the best actress gong at the Academy Awards, ahead of the likes of Emma Stone for Bugonia and Jennifer Lawrence for Die My Love – and certainly helped along by her win at the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday night.
As the first of the big showbiz awards season bashes – and coming weeks ahead of even the Bafta or Oscar nominations being announced – they’ve always managed to stay relevant by acting as an early indicator.
But Buckley has revealed that, nonetheless, there was reluctance to have her leading the cast opposite Christian Bale in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s new film The Bride!, described by Vogue as ‘a provocative update on a subplot from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein’ with a rumoured budget of £50 million.
‘Being completely honest, nobody wanted me to do that film,’ she told the publication in a new interview – despite the fact she’s already an Oscar nominee from 2022 for her supporting turn in The Lost Daughter.
‘I mean, the studio. I’ve never done a Marvel, I’m not on Instagram, I’m probably the least bankable [choice]. Like the security or the riskiness was… It was difficult for them. And Maggie was like, “Sorry, I’m not doing it without her.”‘
And at least Gyllenhaal was adamant about Buckley, given the demands of the role, which were compared to those of La La Land on Stone but with an additional dark Gothic horror edge.
‘Who else could have done it? Jessie’s able to hold the entire spectrum of human experience inside of her,’ the filmmaker – who directed her to her first Academy nod – praised.
And that is beautifully illustrated in Hamnet too, where she plays the wife of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal); the story examines their life together as they marry and have children, charting his rising profile as a playwright before the tragic death of their son.
In my own review for Metro, I said that Hamnet ‘truly belongs to the magnificent Buckley’, as she takes centre stage with her ‘startlingly raw performance of grief’.
‘Here is a woman who loves strongly enough to will her daughter back to life – twice – but was unable to do the same for her son. Her scream of primal pain at that realisation is the most affecting part of a performance that is not only career-defining for the accomplished Buckley, but one we’ll still be talking about well beyond the Oscars.
‘And there is no one more deserving this year of bringing home the Academy Award for best actress,’ I previously predicted.
It seems the bookies are now also in agreement, with new surges in her favour putting her at the front of the pack and Paddy Power emphasising she’s the ‘1/7 odds-on favourite’ to win the best actress Oscar.
The Hamnet star ‘is the runaway leader’ in the betting market, with Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You) a distant second at 6/1 and Sentimental Value’s Renate Reinsve is third-favourite at 10/1.
New odds for the 2026 best actress Oscar race
Jessie Buckley, Hamnet – 1/7
Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You – 6/1
Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value – 10/1
Emma Stone, Bugonia – 16/1
Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another – 16/1
— Paddy Power
Jessie Buckley, Hamnet – 1/6
Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You – 5/1
Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value – 16/1
Emma Stone, Bugonia – 25/1
Jennifer Lawrence, Die My Love – 25/1
Kate Hudson, Song Sung Blue – 33/1
— Coral
Jessie Buckley, Hamnet – 1/6
Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You – 5/1
Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value – 16/1
Emma Stone, Bugonia – 25/1
Jennifer Lawrence, Die My Love – 25/1
Kate Hudson, Song Sung Blue – 33/1
Amanda Seyfried, The Testament of Ann Lee – 40/1
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked: For Good – 40/1
— Ladbrokes
A Paddy Power spokesperson told Metro: ‘At odds of 1/7, Jessie Buckley winning Best Actress looks a formality, and they might as well crack on and start engraving the statue now.
‘This one looks less Hollywood cliff-hanger, and more Sunday evening telly you half-watch knowing how it ends.’
‘Jessie Buckley has surged to the top of our Best Actress betting over the last couple of days and is now a long odds-on favourite to scoop the gong,’ agreed Coral’s John Hill alongside exclusive new odds, while Alex Apati of Ladbrokes called her ‘a shoo-in’.
Who do you want to win the Oscar for best actress this year?
‘Her only real threat as far as the odds concerned would be Rose Byrne, but even that would be considered a huge upset at this point,’ he added.
Set in 1930s Chicago, The Bride! – which draws inspiration from classic 1935 horror movie Bride of Frankenstein – sees the monster (Bale) ask Dr. Euphronius (Annette Bening) to help create a companion.
They give life to a murdered woman as the Bride (Buckley), sparking romance, police interest, and radical social change.
The film also stars Penélope Cruz, Gyllenhaal’s husband Peter Sarsgaard and her movie star brother Jake.
Hamnet is in cinemas on Friday, January 9. The Bride! is set for release on March 6.
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