Jessie Buckley Wins Best Actress at 2026 Baftas, Says Prize Is Shared with Her Daughter
jessie buckley extended her awards-season momentum by taking the EE British Academy of Film and Television Arts best actress trophy at the 2026 Baftas on Sunday night, a victory that arrived two days after she picked up the equivalent Irish Film and Television Academy prize in Dublin. The win — the first time an Irish performer has claimed the Bafta best actress award — cemented Hamnet's place on a night of both British and international success at London's Royal Festival Hall.
Jessie Buckley at the Royal Festival Hall
Buckley, nominated for her portrayal of a wracked Agnes Shakespeare in Chloé Zhao's Hamnet, accepted the prize beneath the Royal Festival Hall's lights, described in the room as "luminous in blue. " The award was presented by Cillian Murphy — a move observers called a canny one by Bafta — and Buckley framed the win around gratitude and family. She said the moment belonged to the women who taught her and pledged to "share this" with her daughter, noting that her child had accompanied her on the road since being six weeks old. When she first took the stage she summed the feeling in three words: "This is nuts. "
Hamnet and the Best British Film Award
Hamnet also collected the Bafta for best British film, adding to the film's awards haul even as it fell short of the night’s overall best film prize. The film's strong showing was linked closely to Buckley's lead turn and the attention the production has drawn throughout awards season.
One Battle After Another’s Six Baftas
Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another dominated the ceremony, taking six Baftas, including the top prize of best film along with best director and best adapted screenplay. Sean Penn, absent from the ceremony, won best supporting actor for his role as a messianic despot in the film; his victory, coming over contenders such as Stellan Skarsgård — who had been seen as a favourite in the category — was described as a development that opens the corresponding Oscar race up considerably.
Robert Aramayo and I Swear
One of the evening's biggest surprises came when Robert Aramayo, the young star of Kirk Jones's drama I Swear, won best actor over nominees including Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio. The film, which tells the story of John Davidson, a Scottish campaigner for people with Tourette syndrome, has been a significant hit in the UK and Ireland but has barely registered with awards bodies elsewhere. Aramayo, a Yorkshireman who also took the rising star award, appeared stunned when his name was called.
Technical Wins, Visual Effects and Element Pictures
In the technical categories, Richard Baneham secured a second Bafta for special visual effects for Avatar: Fire and Ash, a result that underlined his standing in the field. The Tallaght native thanked director Jim Cameron with a Gaelic phrase — "go raibh maith agat" — and singled out the stage and lab crews in New Zealand and in LA for their work. Meanwhile, Element Pictures, the Oscar-winning Dublin-based production company, was credited as a proud co-producer of Akinola Davies jnr's My Father's Shadow, which won the outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer; Akinola Davies jnr shares that prize with co-writer Wale Davies.
Sinners, Wunmi Mosaku and the Supporting Actress Race
Ryan Coogler's Sinners took three awards on the night — original screenplay, original score and best supporting actress for British performer Wunmi Mosaku. Mosaku's victory over Carey Mulligan and Teyanna Taylor was described as a minor upset, and observers noted that the result could influence the run-up to the Oscars, where tensions between competing frontrunners are already forming. In her brief remarks Mosaku said, "Thank you Bafta for this incredible honour, " and began a tribute to her daughter with the line, "To my daughter, you are my greatest teacher. I am so proud of you, eve" — unclear in the provided context beyond that fragment.
What makes this notable is how the night balanced national firsts and international momentum: an Irish performer achieved a Bafta first, a British film and an American political thriller split the major awards, and technical and debut prizes highlighted a wide cross-section of the film industry. The timing matters because Buckley's win, coming two days after an Irish award and amid multiple headline victories for other films, deepens the narrative of awards-season trajectories as the race moves toward the Oscars.
jessie buckley leaves the Royal Festival Hall with a landmark Bafta and a speech that tied personal life to professional recognition, while One Battle After Another, Hamnet and a string of technical and debut winners collectively reshaped expectations for the coming months of awards voting.
