Jessie Buckley is the frontrunner to win the Best Actress Oscar next Sunday. However, her path to becoming a Hollywood star almost ended before it began, with her very first experience at the theatre.
The actress known for her role in Hamnet says she had a frightening experience as a child watching Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar. She genuinely thought she was witnessing a real crucifixion, which deeply upset her.
In a recent interview on Desert Island Discs, she recalled that the first play her parents ever took her to see was Jesus Christ Superstar.
Watching this performance was incredibly powerful – it felt like witnessing a real crucifixion. I was deeply shaken and completely overwhelmed with emotion, ending up sobbing on the floor.
Thirty-six-year-old Ms. Buckley shared with Lauren Laverne a story about a local play in her hometown of Killarney, County Kerry. She explained that her parents, possibly feeling embarrassed or wanting to reassure her, asked if she could meet the actor who played Jesus – Mike Murphy – backstage to see he was alright.
‘That was like the first kind of peek behind the curtain – the magic of theatre. It was so real.’
It’s somewhat surprising, considering how upset she was by seeing Jesus Christ Superstar, but the show’s composer, Lord Lloyd-Webber, was actually key to helping the young Buckley become a star.
He was a judge on the BBC talent show I’d Do Anything, where 17-year-old Jodie Buckley competed for the lead role of Nancy in a stage production of Oliver!
Ms. Buckley appreciated Lord Lloyd-Webber’s support, but she sometimes felt uneasy with the show’s focus on her appearance as a teenager. She says she regrets that experience and hopes no other young performer has to go through the same thing.
Although she finished second on the show to Jodie Prenger – who now appears in Coronation Street – Ms. Buckley chose to study drama at Rada rather than accept a role as an understudy.
Many experts predict she will win the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in Hamnet, a film based on the life of Shakespeare.
Desert Island Discs is on BBC Radio 4 Sunday at 10am and is available via BBC Sounds.
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2026-03-08 03:50