Jessie Buckley Praises “Hamnet” Costar Paul Mescal as She Wins at Critics Choice Awards: 'I Could Drink You Like Water'
- - Jessie Buckley Praises “Hamnet” Costar Paul Mescal as She Wins at Critics Choice Awards: 'I Could Drink You Like Water'
Yamillah HurtadoJanuary 4, 2026 at 9:55 PM
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Kevin Winter/Getty; E!
Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal on Jan. 4, 2026 -
Jessie Buckley shouted out her Hamnet costar Paul Mescal after she won the 2026 Critics Choice Best Actress Award
"Paul, I bloody love you, man. And I know loads of other women do in this room too, but tough s---," she said
The actresses nominated at this year's ceremony included Rose Byrne, Chase Infiniti, Renate Reinsve, Amanda Seyfried and Emma Stone
Jessie Buckley shared some overt praise for her Hamnet costar Paul Mescal after she won Best Actress at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards.
Buckley, 36, poked fun at Mescal's internet boyfriend status as she accepted the award from Jeff Goldblum during the Sunday, Jan. 4, awards show at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif.
"Chloé Zhao, you have reminded me of the power of telling a story and the journey that you can go on to touch the deepest parts of what it is to be alive," she said, shouting out Hamnet's writer-director Zhao, 43.
"Paul, I bloody love you, man. And I know loads of other women do in this room too, but tough s---," she added, with a laugh. "I could drink you like water working with you every single day. You're a giant of the heart and thank you so much for making me a little more human."
Mescal and Buckley costarred as William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes in Hamnet, a fictional tale of the family's domestic lives and the writing of Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Buckley also shouted out costar Emily Watson, whom she called "my north star from the beginning," as well as child actors Jacobi Jupe, Olivia Lynes and Bodhi Rae Breathnach, who play her and Mescal's onscreen children in the movie. "To my kiddywinks- Jacobi, Olivia, Bodhi — thank you for reminding me what it is to have a ball again," she added.
Buckley's fellow nominees at this year's Critics Choice Awards also included Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I'd Kick You), Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), Amanda Seyfried (The Testament of Ann Lee) and Emma Stone (Bugonia).
Agata Grzybowska/Focus Features
Jesse Buckley in 'Hamnet'
Buckley’s gut-wrenching performance as Agnes, the wife of Paul Mescal’s William Shakespeare, in Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet received critical acclaim.
In Zhao’s adaptation of author Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel of the same name (a fictional story about the life of the Shakespeare family), audiences see the unraveling of Agnes following the death of her son Hamnet, played by Jacobi Jupe. Their son’s death leads Shakespeare to write the world-renowned play Hamlet.
Buckley’s consideration for Best Actress at this year’s Critics Choice Awards marked her second nomination for the award show, following her 2023 nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the drama Women Talking.
“I’m really proud to be putting this film out in the world, and I’m so happy that it’s been responded to in the way it has,” Buckley told PEOPLE at the New York premiere of the film. “I mean, to make anything at all is a triumph. The other stuff is extra.”
Logan White/A24
Rose Byrne in 'If I Had Legs I'd Kick You'
Byrne plays Linda, a therapist who struggles with her own mental health, in Mary Bronstein’s psychological thriller, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.
The film depicts Linda’s life as she navigates her daughter’s illness, an absent husband and her hostile relationship with her therapist, played by Conan O’Brien. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You costars Danielle MacDonald, Ivy Wolk, A$AP Rocky, Christian Slater and Delaney Quinn.
The actress’ lead performance earned her the Silver Berlin Bear award at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival in February. Her nomination for the 2026 Critics Choice Awards is her second for the award show, which came over a decade after her first nomination in 2015 for Best Actress in a Comedy for her role as Kelly Radner in Neighbors.
“It's so flattering,” Byrne told USA Today of the praise she’s received for her role in the film. “I feel very emotional about it. I’ve been doing this a long time, so I feel grateful to have had such an incredible opportunity with this character.”
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Chase Infiniti in 'One Battle After Another'
One Battle After Another is taking the lead this awards season, so it's no wonder that its breakthrough actress earned her first-ever nomination for a Critics Choice award in the category of Best Actress.
Infiniti plays the role of Willa, the beloved teenage daughter of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Bob Ferguson — former revolutionary who is on the run, and Teyana Taylor’s Perfidia Beverly Hills.
“My whole life has literally changed in the last six months,” Infiniti told the Guardian when speaking about the film’s success.
Renate Reinsve in 'Sentimental Value'
In Sentimental Value, Reinsve plays Nora, an actress and estranged daughter to an aging film director played by Stellan Skarsgård.
The Norwegian drama follows a dysfunctional family as Nora and her sister Agnes (played by Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) reunite with their father Gustav, who hopes Nora will star in the comeback film he wrote for her. As Gustav aims to work his way back into their lives, Nora retreats into isolation as her mental health increasingly declines.
This year marks Reinsve’s first nomination for a Critics Choice award, while Sentimental Value has earned seven nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor for Skarsgård.
“I was very connected to the role,” Reinsve told Variety of her role. “It’s not like specifically the story, or like detailed – it’s not my story, but it is kind of. We share that perspective of how complex things are, and how subtle you can say something very dramatic about everyday life and what small moments contain of drama.”
Searchlight Pictures
Amanda Seyfried in 'The Testament of Ann Lee'
The Testament of Ann Lee star received a 15-minute standing ovation at the Venice International Film Festival for her performance as the founder and leader of the Shakers, Ann Lee.
In the epic fable, directed by Mona Fastvold, Seyfried captures the essence of one of the few female religious leaders of the 18th century through song and movement. Speaking at the Venice press conference, Fastvold opened up about why she chose Seyfried as the lead.
“Amanda has a lot of power,” Fastvold said. “She’s really strong. She is a wonderful mother. She is a little mad. And so I knew that she could access those things — she could access the kindness, the gentleness, the tenderness. And she could also access this power and this madness.”
At the same conference, Seyfried said, “This did feel like an opportunity where there were just no tethers to anything… I’ve never been let loose in this way.”
Her Best Actress nomination at this year’s Critics Choice follows her two prior nominations: Best Actress in a Limited Series for her role in The Dropout in 2023 and Best Supporting Actress for her role in Mank in 2021.
Focus Features
Emma Stone in 'Bugonia'
Stone was out of this world (literally) in her fourth film with director Yorgos Lanthimos, Bugonia.
The actress plays Michelle, a pharmaceutical company CEO who is kidnapped by two conspiracy theorists who believe she is an alien plotting to take over life on Earth. In this comedic sci-fi film, Stone earnestly tries to convince these men, played by Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis, that she is human.
Stone’s nomination marks her sixth overall for the Critics Choice Awards, following her 2024 Best Actress win for her role in Lanthimos’ Poor Things.
See PEOPLE's full coverage of the 31st annual Critics Choice Awards Sunday, Jan. 4 as they air live on E! and USA Network at 7 p.m. ET from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif.
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