Jessie Buckley has made a name for herself as a transformative actor, so it feels fitting that her first major film awards are for a movie about one of the dramatic greats, Shakespeare. This award season, Buckley won Best Actress at the Critics Choice Awards and the British Academy Film Awards (aka the BAFTAs) for her role as Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes, in Hamnet, a historical drama written and directed by Chloé Zhao co-starring Paul Mescal.

It’s not Buckley’s first foray into the world of Shakespearean tragedy. She starred in stage productions of the Bard’s works — including The Tempest, Henry V, and The Winter’s Tale — in the 2010s and transitioned into onscreen work during that time. The Irish actor had roles in movies like Beast, Wild Rose, and Judy and in miniseries like 2016’s War & Peace and Chernobyl, before breaking out in the 2020s with movies like Fingernails and I’m Thinking of Ending Things (more about that one below). Buckley also starred in writer-director Alex Garland’s folk horror film Men and Sarah Polley’s Oscar-winning drama Women Talking. Later this year, she’ll reunite with director Maggie Gyllenhaal on the pair’s second collaboration, The Bride! Keep reading for more about Buckley’s films on Netflix.

The Lost Daughter

This psychological drama by writer-director Maggie Gyllenhaal follows Leda Caruso (Olivia Colman), a professor and translator whose connection with a young mother-daughter duo rekindles uncomfortable memories. Along with Colman (Pride and Prejudice), the film stars Buckley as the younger version of Leda in a performance that earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The film is Gyllenhaal’s feature directorial debut and premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival. Dakota Johnson (Persuasion), Paul Mescal (Normal People), Dagmara Dominczyk (Bottoms), Jack Farthing (Spencer), Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Mr. Malcolm’s List), Peter Sarsgaard (Wormwood), and Ed Harris (Radio) co-star.

The Lost Daughter

2h 2m   R   2021

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I'm Thinking of Ending Things

Writer-director Charlie Kaufman’s (Anomalisa) surrealist psychological thriller is a loose adaptation of Iain Reid’s 2016 novel. Buckley plays a woman — whose name changes throughout the film — who goes on a trip with her boyfriend, Jake (Jesse Plemons), to meet his parents (Toni Collette and David Thewlis) while she contemplates ending their relationship. The couple’s off-kilter experiences are intercut with footage of a seemingly unconnected school custodian (Guy Boyd), whose storyline unfolds alongside theirs.

I'm Thinking of Ending Things

2h 14m   R   2020

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