Some actors chase Shakespeare, others seem to step straight out of his pages. Jessie Buckley has lately looked like the latter. With her luminous portrayal of Agnes, the intuitive, grief-stricken wife of the Bard, in Hamnet, the Irish performer has been propelled into the brightest spotlight of her career. The film, adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s quietly devastating novel, has turned Buckley into one of the most talked-about actors of the year. 

But the story behind that ascent has always been more complicated than the curtain call suggests.

During a deeply personal appearance on Desert Island Discs with host Lauren Laverne, Jessie Buckley spoke candidly about the emotional turbulence that accompanied her early exposure to the entertainment world. Growing up in Killarney, County Kerry, she revealed that her teenage years were marked by an eating disorder and depression, battles she fought quietly while pursuing music and performance.

“I had an eating disorder, and it took time, and it took a lot of help, and also it was depression,” Buckley said on the programme. 

Looking back, she framed that period not only as painful but transformative. 

“I didn’t know how to be alive the way I wanted to be, and it was difficult,” she explained, before adding a perspective that reflects the introspective tone often heard on the BBC’s long-running radio confessional. 

“But I do not for a second regret it, and I think I’ve been able to transform it and recognise our vulnerabilities as humans in the world.”

The actor emphasised that healing was gradual and deeply tied to creativity. Theatre, in particular, became a lifeline. She once performed through an emergency when her appendix nearly burst, refusing to leave the stage until the play ended. Even after moving to London, she admitted she was not out of the "woods," recalling a pivotal realization that she could not sacrifice music and theatre to her struggles.

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Just as Jessie Buckley’s personal story is resonating publicly, her career is experiencing a curious split on the big screen.

While Jessie Buckley dominates awards-season chatter for Hamnet, her latest release, The Bride!, directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, has stumbled at the box office. The punk-inflected feminist reimagining of the classic Bride of Frankenstein myth debuted with $7.3 million domestically and $13.6 million globally, as per Deadline. It is a disappointing result for a film that reportedly cost Warner Bros. around $90 million to produce.

Set in the 1930s, the film follows Frankenstein’s monster, played by Christian Bale, and his resurrected companion, Buckley’s fierce, otherworldly Bride as outlaw lovers drifting across America. The film’s mixed reviews, poor audience scores and an oddly timed release date contributed to its underwhelming debut.

For an actor who has spent her life transforming vulnerability into art, the contrast feels almost poetic. Buckley’s career, much like her performances, refuses the predictable script.

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What do you think about Jessie Buckley’s journey and her recent films? Share your thoughts.