Jessie Buckley’s Bafta best actress win shifts the spotlight onto Irish talent and family stakes

Why this matters now: Jessie Buckley’s victory centers more than a trophy — it amplifies a milestone for Irish performers and puts a personal lens on awards season. Buckley’s win is already being shared back to the people closest to her — most notably her daughter — and it reframes how Hamnet and its Irish collaborators are being noticed as the Oscars approach.

Jessie Buckley’s win: immediate effects for family and the Irish filmmaking community

Jessie Buckley accepted the best actress prize at the Baftas on Sunday night, and she framed the achievement as one she shares with her daughter. She said her daughter has been with her since she was six weeks old on the road with this, called motherhood the best role of her life and promised to remain disobedient so her daughter can belong to a world in her complete wildness as a young woman. Buckley, luminous in blue, received the award from compatriot Cillian Murphy at the Royal Festival Hall on London’s South Bank.

What’s easy to miss is that this is the first time an Irish performer has won the Bafta best actress prize — a symbolic moment for performers from Killarney, Co Kerry, and beyond who have been part of Hamnet’s profile this awards season.

Event details: the night’s outcomes and where Hamnet landed

Buckley’s Bafta follows a win two days earlier at the equivalent Irish Film and Television Academy award in Dublin. On Sunday she took best actress for her portrayal of a wracked Agnes Shakespeare in Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet. The film also won the outstanding British film prize, though Hamnet did not take the overall best film award.

• Two days earlier: Buckley won the Irish Film and Television Academy award in Dublin.
• Sunday night: Best actress at the Baftas; Hamnet won outstanding British film.

The ceremony left Hamnet clearly visible in the awards conversation while also highlighting that the film’s cast and production — including a lead from Killarney — are central to its momentum heading into Oscar season.

Chloé Zhao, Maggie O’Farrell and the Irish connection in Hamnet

Hamnet’s director said the film carries "some energy" from Ireland and that she has a "very personal" connection with the country, though she would not elaborate on the nature of that connection. The film, adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s award-winning novel, stars Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal and follows the family life of William Shakespeare after the death of their young son; Buckley plays Agnes Hathaway, historically known as Anne.

Maggie O’Farrell, who is from Coleraine in Northern Ireland, joked about the casting process when Zhao proposed the choices, asking if Zhao had "gone straight to Ireland and not come back. " O’Farrell praised the cast as simply the best people for the job. Zhao described taking part in making the film as a transforming, life-changing experience and said the team will always be able to look back on that shared moment from forest to stage.

Other winners, surprises and how the night reshaped awards-season betting

The evening contained multiple shocks and shifts. Paul Mescal, from Dublin and nominated for William Shakespeare in Hamnet, lost out in best supporting actor to an absent Sean Penn, who played a sinister messianic despot in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. Stellan Skarsgård had been seen as a favourite in that supporting category, and Penn’s win was described as opening the corresponding Oscar race considerably.

One Battle After Another dominated with six Baftas, including best director and best adapted screenplay, and took the overall best film prize. That sweep positioned Anderson’s film as a healthy favourite for the Oscars, with Ryan Coogler’s Sinners — which won original screenplay and original score — seen running close behind.

Other highlights: Richard Baneham, the Tallaght man, won a second Bafta in special visual effects for Avatar: Fire and Ash and thanked Jim Cameron plus crews in New Zealand and Los Angeles. Robert Aramayo pulled a major surprise by winning best actor for I Swear, beating nominees including Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio; Aramayo, a Yorkshireman who also won rising star, seemed stunned. I Swear tells the story of John Davidson, a Scottish campaigner for those with Tourette syndrome, and has been a significant hit in the UK and Ireland while registering less on awards bodies elsewhere.

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners also delivered for British performer Wunmi Mosaku, who won best supporting actress in a minor upset over Carey Mulligan and Teyanna Taylor and dedicated the honour to her daughter.

Quick Q&A about what this reshuffle might mean

Here’s the part that matters: how will these outcomes affect the immediate awards narrative?

• Q: Does Buckley’s Bafta change her Oscar standing? A: Buckley is described as a frontrunner and has dominated the awards season so far, so the Bafta extends that momentum.
• Q: What does the night do for Hamnet and its team? A: Hamnet’s British film prize and Buckley’s acting award increase visibility for the film and its Irish contributors, while other winners reshuffled expectations across categories.
• Q: Are any details uncertain? A: Mescal has had a string of nominations across the season but has yet to receive a prize; other awards-season consequences may evolve.

The real question now is how these Bafta results translate as the Oscar nominations and voting progress; some races look clearer, others have opened up after unexpected wins.

Writer’s aside: The bigger signal here is less about a single statuette and more about how a film rooted in an Irish author’s perspective and an Irish-led performance can change perceptions during awards season.