Jessie Buckley Wins Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Leading Role for 'Hamnet' at the Actor Awards

2 days ago 5

Jessie Buckley clasping her hands and leaning on the stage with the crowd in Hamnet

Published Mar 1, 2026, 10:17 PM EST

Ryan O'Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided's CubbiesCrib. Whether it's taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what's going on. Outside of entertainment, he's a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor's in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.

Jessie Buckley has been sweeping awards season so far for her heartstring-tugging role as William Shakespeare's wife Anne in Hamnet, winning at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, and the BAFTAs. Tonight, the winning streak has continued. At SAG's Actor Awards on Sunday, she took home Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, further bolstering her already very strong case for Best Actress at the Oscars. Her victory in her first individual nomination at the event didn't come without some tough competition, though. Rose Byrne earned a ton of buzz coming off of what was seen as a career-best turn in Mary Bronstein's nightmarish motherhood drama If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, with other big players like Kate Hudson, Chase Infiniti, and Emma Stone also being up for the prize.

This marks Buckley's first-ever Actor Awards win, and it certainly bodes well for her chances in the upcoming Oscar race. Buckley has long been considered the front-runner for the prize despite the stiff competition, which includes the same group of nominees mentioned above, minus Chase Infiniti for One Battle After Another. Along with Jessie Buckley's performance for Hamnet, other nominees include Rose Byrne for If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, Kate Hudson for Song Sung Blue, Emma Stone for Bugonia, and Renate Reinsve for Sentimental Value.

For those who have yet to see arguably the best and most emotional film of 2025, Hamnet explores the possible origins behind the creation of William Shakespeare's (Paul Mescal) timeless tragedy, Hamlet. While Mescal's Bill Shakespeare certainly plays a pivotal role, most of the story follows things through the perspective of his wife, Agnes (Buckley), as they try to raise a family of their own, with the father trying to produce a play in London and the mother doing her best to give their children a perfect life. Things take a tragic turn when one of their children falls gravely ill.

Jessie Buckley Already Has a Massive Project Lined Up

Buckley's historic Actor Award win really could not be coming at a better time, as the Oscar-nominated star already has another surefire hit right around the corner. On March 6, Buckley's reunion with The Lost Daughter director Maggie Gyllenhaal will finally hit the big screen with The Bride! — a reinvention of The Bride of Frankenstein that plunges the titular character into the world of 1920s crime. Buckley will star alongside Christian Bale, Jake Gyllenhaal, Annette Bening, and Penélope Cruz.

Hamnet is available to rent or buy on VOD. Stay tuned to Collider updates.