THE BIG SUNDAY READ
KERRY actress Jessie Buckley is in the middle of a golden period in her screen career with a CV crammed full of award nominations and A-list co-stars.
The 31-year-old Killarney woman has shared the stage with Judi Dench, starred opposite Renee Zellweger in her Oscar-winning turn in Judy and has recently wrapped up filming with Paul Mescal in his first movie.
Now she is set to feature opposite Golden Globe-winning Crown star Josh O’connor in a modern-day adaptation of Romeo and Juliet for Sky Arts.
But despite more than a decade in film and TV, the actress has appeared to have escaped the pitfalls of 21st Century fame by quietly keeping her private life out of the public domain.
Speaking from her London home, Jessie said: “I’m conscious of it. I think you choose the life that you want to live.
“I love my work and that’s all that is important to me to be out there in the world.
“I just get on with my life. It’s important for me to come away from it and be quiet.”
ACCLAIM
She first came to the attention of millions as the fervent 18-year-old songstress who came runner-up in I’d Do Anything – the 2008 television search to find Nancy for the stage revival of Oliver.
With her Bafta-nominated raw performance as a brash, Glaswegian country singer with dreams of making it in Nashville winning her a raft of critical acclaim in 2018, she has been on every casting director’s wish list, landing roles in everything from Chernobyl to Fargo.
Jessie’s latest role in the Sky Arts production of Shakespeare’s tale of star-crossed lovers sees her as an earthy version of Juliet with her Kerry accent.
She said: “Early on when we were meant to do it in theatre it was [decided] that I would do it Irish, which is great.
“I’ve actually hardly ever used my own accent. There was part of me that was quite nervous of it, because I was like, ‘Oh, it’s just me’.
“But I really wanted to go for that and be as vulnerable as possible, and it was gorgeous, I loved it.”
The beautifully stylised production, shot on the Lyttelton theatre stage in London, mixes Shakespearean dialect with ordinary 21st century costumes for the actors, modern furniture and racks of clothes as props on the stage.
It was originally slated as a UK
I wanted to be as vulnerable as possible... and it was gorgeous, I loved it JESSIE BUCKLEY ON USING HER OWN ACCENT FOR NEW DRAMA
National theatre production, but it was turned into a film production in the empty auditorium over 17 days.
The 31-year-old concentrated on the Sky Arts love story which is set to capture a new generation of audience in cinematic form.
She said: “It’s to kind of understand love, as much as Juliet wanted to understand love and when you find love, real love, it’s an incredible feeling.
“I mean it’s like litmus paper and you’re kind of, you’re off, you know, and that’s what Romeo and Juliet is.”
Her co-star O’connor, who plays