Fresh Air Best Of: ‘Hamnet’ star Jessie Buckley / Documentarian Morgan Neville
Mar 7, 2026
Jessie Buckley, an Oscar-nominated Irish actor known for Hamnet and powerful screen turns, reflects on playing Agnes and how motherhood reshaped her craft. John Powers, film critic, reviews Kokuho, a story about kabuki training and artistic sacrifice. Morgan Neville, documentarian, explores Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles crisis, archival footage, and his prolific return to songwriting.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Agnes Reimagined As a Vivid Counterpart To Shakespeare
- Jessie Buckley reframes Agnes Hathaway from a marginal historical footnote to a vivid, full person with agency and connection to nature.
- Maggie O'Farrell's novel and the film give Agnes status beside Shakespeare by imagining her herbal knowledge, falconry, and elemental life on the land.
Grief Scene Born From Presence Not Rehearsal
- Buckley describes Chloe Zhao's direction as asking actors to 'be as present as possible,' producing a spontaneous, harrowing scene of a mother's grief that wasn't scripted.
- The emotional truth came from Buckley's real bond with child actor Jacoby Jupe and the ensemble feeling like a family.
Pregnancy Followed Hamnet And Taught Tenderness
- Buckley learned she was pregnant about a week after finishing Hamnet and says the film led her into motherhood by teaching 'tenderness.'
- She links the film's exploration of maternal grief to discovering a ferocious, humbling tenderness in real pregnancy and early motherhood.