Jessie Buckley BAFTA Win, Hamnet, Jacobi Jupe, Chloe Zhao, and the Story Behind the Film of the Year

The 2026 BAFTA Film Awards delivered one of the most emotionally charged nights in years, and at the center of it all was Hamnet — Chloé Zhao's adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's bestselling novel — and its leading actress Jessie Buckley, who made history with one of the most moving acceptance speeches of the awards season.

Jessie Buckley Wins BAFTA Best Leading Actress — A Historic Night

Jessie Buckley, 36, won the BAFTA for Best Leading Actress for her portrayal of Agnes Shakespeare — the wife of William Shakespeare — in Hamnet. The award was presented by fellow Irish actor Cillian Murphy, a choice widely described as a canny and touching decision by BAFTA. Her win made her the first Irish performer ever to win the Best Actress prize at the BAFTAs. It came just two days after she claimed the equivalent honor at the Irish Film and Television Academy Awards in Dublin.

Buckley delivered an emotional, luminous speech, dedicating the award to the women — past, present, and future — who shaped her. She praised director Chloé Zhao for her "uncompromising artistry" and thanked author Maggie O'Farrell directly, saying O'Farrell brought the mother out of the shadows and stood her beside the giant that is Shakespeare. Then came the moment that stopped the room — a tearful tribute to her seven-month-old daughter, whom she shares with husband Freddie Sorensen, a mental health worker and former TV producer. Buckley said her daughter had been on the road with her since she was six weeks old, and called motherhood the best role of her life. She promised to continue to be disobedient so her daughter can belong to a world in all her wildness as a young woman.

Buckley had not yet been a mother when she filmed Hamnet, but has spoken extensively about how playing Agnes — a grieving mother navigating loss — deepened her own longing for a child. Filming wrapped in September 2024, and she was pregnant shortly after. The convergence of the role and real life has become one of the defining narratives of this awards season.

What Is Hamnet — The Film Explained

Hamnet is directed by Chloé Zhao and based on Maggie O'Farrell's celebrated 2020 novel of the same name. The film explores the story of Shakespeare's family in the 1590s, centered on the death of his 11-year-old son Hamnet from the bubonic plague and the devastating grief experienced by his mother, Agnes. O'Farrell's novel — and Zhao's film — boldly centers Agnes rather than Shakespeare, restoring her to the heart of the story.

The film made history as the most BAFTA-nominated feature ever directed by a woman, receiving 11 nominations including Best Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Outstanding British Film, Best Leading Actress, Best Supporting Actor for Paul Mescal (as Shakespeare), and Best Supporting Actress for Emily Mortimer. It won two BAFTAs on the night — Outstanding British Film and Best Leading Actress for Buckley.

Who Is Jacobi Jupe — and Noah Jupe?

Real-life brothers Noah Jupe and Jacobi Jupe both appear in Hamnet. Noah, 21, plays Hamlet — Shakespeare himself performing the role he wrote — while Jacobi, 12, plays Hamnet, Shakespeare's young son whose death forms the emotional core of the film. Both brothers walked the 2026 BAFTA red carpet together, posing arm in arm. They spoke candidly about how emotionally difficult the film is to watch, with Jacobi admitting that post-screening Q&A sessions leave him struggling to compose himself. Noah recalled watching the film for the first time at the Toronto Film Festival and being completely unprepared for the emotional weight of the ending.

Noah Jupe also described the quiet lesson he took from Paul Mescal on set — observing Mescal's humility, hard work, and passion as a model of professional conduct. Noah will next be seen on the West End stage, playing Romeo opposite Sadie Sink's Juliet in Robert Icke's production of Romeo and Juliet at the Harold Pinter Theatre, opening March 16, 2026.

The Hamnet Cast and Creatives

Emma Stone, Cillian Murphy, and the BAFTA Red Carpet

The Hamnet story was far from the only headline. Emma Stone attended the 2026 BAFTAs as a nominee for Best Leading Actress for Bugonia, arriving in a sleek cut-out dress. She was ultimately beaten by Buckley. Cillian Murphy attended as a presenter, cutting a dashing figure in a double-breasted suit, and drew enormous crowd reaction by presenting the award to his fellow Irish actor Buckley.

Hamnet and the Road to the Oscars

With her BAFTA now secured, Jessie Buckley is widely regarded as the overwhelming favourite for Best Actress at the Academy Awards on March 15, 2026. Few performers this century have entered Oscar night in as strong a position. Chloé Zhao's Hamnet and Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another — the night's biggest winner with six BAFTAs including Best Film — now head into Oscar season as the two films to beat.