AI-generated q&a format analysis of the interview
Explore harp camp, cat auditions, and the making of "The Bride" with Jesse Buckley. Discover her insights on acting, motherhood, and her award-winning roles in "Hamnet" and beyond.
Published March 6, 2026
This q&a format was automatically generated by AI from the interview. The analysis provides structured insights extracted from the conversation.
Jessie Buckley
Complete analysis processed by AI from this interview
Interviewer: I’m so excited, welcome. I’m so happy to meet you. I wanna get to know you better. Let’s go for a drink, after it. Let’s do it, let’s hang out.
Interviewer: I know, what’s your order if you go to a pub right now? Interviewee: Um, depends what kind of, Guinness only in Ireland, I would say. Interviewer: Not in America. Interviewee: Well, I’d have to go to an Irish bar in America. Interviewer: Yeah, well there’s only a thousand of them in New York City. Interviewee: Okay, we’re good. Interviewer: Wouldn’t be hard, yeah, we’re so good, yeah. We’re so good. Interviewee: I like a spicy margarita.
Interviewer: I would love to go to a pub with you because I know you’re Irish, but also don’t you know how to like play the piano and play the harp? Interviewer: Yeah. Interviewer: Couldn’t we go to pubs and bring a harp with us? Interviewer: I bought my harp, I bring it everywhere with me. Interviewee: I wear my harp on my sleeve. Interviewer: You really do, you really do.
Interviewer: What’s it like playing, I, I, I, that instrument intrigues me. I don’t know if I understand it at all. Like, do you press on a string while you’re plucking it? Interviewee: Um, no, you kind of pluck and flick. Interviewer: Alright. Interviewer: Alright everybody, hold on, let me, uh… Interviewee: Yeah, take some notes. Interviewer: Yeah, I’m gonna have to learn some stuff here. Interviewer: Yeah, yeah. Interviewee: Sometimes you stamp and pluck. Interviewer: Okay now, here we go. Interviewer: Uh, uh, but now you control the notes.
Interviewer: How did you get into harp? Interviewee: My mom’s a harpist. Interviewer: Ah, that’s cool. Interviewer: Is it a very musical family? Interviewee: Yeah, I mean, we played kind of… Interviewee: We did lots of instruments growing up. Interviewer: Yeah, can you still play? Interviewee: No, I can play like one piece of every instrument that I learned. Interviewer: That you learned.
Interviewer: Yeah, but I also heard, or I read somewhere, that you went to harp camp. Interviewee: Yeah. Interviewer: Wow. Interviewee: I know, I know. Interviewee: It really is a wow, like, what a dork. Interviewer: Olivia, what happens at harp camp? Interviewee: Um, well, firstly, it’s in a place called Tirmafecken in a town called Drogheda. Interviewer: Hold on, I’m just, I’m making notes as we’re going here. Interviewer: Uh, how do you spell that again, though? Interviewee: T-E. Interviewer: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Interviewer: Uh, Tirma… Interviewee: Tirmafecken. Interviewer: Yeah. Interviewee: And, um, it’s kind of like, it’s like many, like, many generations of harpists come and gather, and… Interviewee: That’s kind of amazing. Interviewee: It is, yeah, but also kind of insane. Interviewer: Yeah, it is, yeah. Interviewer: I mean, was it fun, though? Interviewee: Did you have any… It was so fun. Interviewee: Like, we’d kind of do classes in the morning, and then you’d meet in the evening, and you’d have a kind of jam, a harp jam. Interviewer: Sounds crazy to me. Interviewer: Wow, a harp jam? Interviewer: Yeah. Interviewer: Were you a teenager? Interviewee: Yeah, well, I was, like, 11, 10 and 11. Interviewee: I went twice. Interviewer: You went back! Interviewee: You went back! Interviewee: Yeah. Interviewee: Wow, you loved it. Interviewee: I loved the harp.
Interviewer: What made you go back? Interviewee: Um… Interviewee: I don’t know. Interviewee: Well, I mean, there was, like, it was, it was fun. Interviewee: I loved the harp. Interviewee: Like, I loved playing it. Interviewee: My mom played it. Interviewee: Yeah. Interviewee: There was also, um… Interviewee: Oh, there was, like, a kind of hot harp teacher. Interviewer: All right, now, now we’re, now we’re talking. Interviewer: Here we go. Interviewer: Now, what does a kind of hot harp teacher look like? Interviewee: Um, he taught jazz harp, and he had leather trousers on. Interviewer: You’re making all of that. Interviewee: Ow! Interviewer: Leather trousers. Interviewee: Woo! Interviewee: Now we’re talking. Interviewee: I wasn’t, I wasn’t alone. Interviewee: I can tell you that. Interviewee: Oh, people had a crush? Interviewee: It was, like, all of us. Interviewee: It was the most booked class of the, of the whole week. Interviewer: I don’t even know what jazz harp is. Interviewer: He came in, what, he was just, like… Interviewee: Kind of, yeah, yeah. Interviewee: Just plucked his heart’s content. Interviewee: Plucked his heart’s content, yeah. Interviewer: Oh, my gosh. Interviewer: Leathered trousers. Interviewer: That’s so funny. Interviewer: And no shirt. Interviewer: He’s like, yeah. Interviewee: No, he did. Interviewee: He had, like, a black tight t-shirt. Interviewee: I’m just like… Interviewee: Don’t get this away from me. Interviewer: No, no, this is… Interviewer: It’s so real in my mind. Interviewer: No, no, you’re giving it to me. Interviewer: No, please. Interviewer: I love it. Interviewee: It was the beginning. Interviewer: Now it’s my memory as well. Interviewer: Yeah, yeah. Interviewee: I’ll see you there. Interviewer: Oh, definitely I’ll see you there. Interviewer: I’ll be there this summer.
Interviewer: You had a very big year already. How are you feeling? Interviewee: Yeah, it’s been, like… Interviewee: It’s pretty busy right meow. Interviewee: Right… Interviewer: Right meow? Interviewer: What is wrong with you? Interviewer: What? Interviewer: What do you mean? Interviewer: You’re pretty busy right meow? Interviewee: Meow. Interviewee: Meow. Interviewee: Yeah. Interviewer: Why? Interviewer: What’s going on around meow? Interviewee: There’s just, like, it’s busy, you know? Interviewee: There’s a…
Interviewer: Oh, no, no, no. Interviewer: Is this… Interviewer: You have… Interviewer: There’s some controversy. Interviewee: I need to clarify something for all cat lovers in the world. Interviewee: Right? Interviewee: I am a lover of cats. Interviewee: I woke up this morning to the world thinking that I really don’t love cats. Interviewee: And it’s really weighed on me all day. Interviewee: I felt sick. Interviewer: Oh, I’m so sorry. Interviewee: I want to just tell cat people that I actually auditioned to be a cat once. Interviewer: You love cats that much that you wanted to be a cat? Interviewer: Yeah. Interviewee: And there’s been a misrep… Interviewee: What’s the word? Interviewer: Conception. Interviewer: Conception. Interviewer: That you don’t enjoy… Interviewee: Because of an interview that I did that, um… Interviewer: You don’t love felines. Interviewee: Well, no, they asked me if I was a dog or a cat. Interviewee: And honestly, I think I’m probably a quarter cat and three quarters dog. Interviewee: Yeah, that counts. Interviewee: Don’t you think that’s right? Interviewer: I’m 100%. Interviewer: What are you? Interviewer: 100% dog. Interviewee: You’re absolutely a dog. Interviewer: You didn’t even have to ask. Interviewer: Yeah. Interviewer: You knew the answer. Interviewer: You knew the answer before you asked. Interviewer: You’re like, you’re a golden retriever, dude. Interviewer: Yeah. Interviewer: You know exactly what kind of dog. Interviewer: Yeah, I’m like… Interviewee: Yeah. Interviewer: Yeah, a little dopey dog. Interviewer: But, uh… Interviewer: But you… Interviewer: You’re a little cat and a little dog. Interviewer: Yeah, you’re allowed to have an opinion. Interviewer: But I love those things when they go… Interviewer: I don’t know. Interviewer: Anyway, I love cats and… Interviewer: A dog and then everyone gets mad. Interviewee: And, um…
Interviewer: You auditioned for Cats? Interviewee: Yeah. Interviewer: The movie or the… Interviewer: The movie. Interviewer: You did. Interviewee: No, I’m making that face because it was honestly the worst… Interviewee: I gave the worst audition of my life. Interviewer: Tell me about it. Interviewee: Well, how would you be a cat? Interviewee: Like, and I was, like, living with, um, flatmates at the time who do, like, proper jobs, like, working for social councils and stuff like that. Interviewer: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Interviewee: And, like, I came down in the morning, I was like, I don’t know how to be a cat this morning. Interviewee: They’re like, well, Jessie, sometimes you just have to be a cat. Interviewee: You know? Interviewer: You gotta grow up. Interviewee: I was like, fair enough. Interviewer: Yeah. Interviewer: You’re an actor, okay? Interviewer: Be a cat. Interviewer: So you crawl around? Interviewee: And I’d done one audition with Tom Hooper and then I got called back to do a movement session with Wayne McGregor, who’s, like, the head choreographer of the Royal Ballet. Interviewee: And he’s got this incredibly sleek, terrifyingly, like, minimalist studio. Interviewee: And when you don’t know how to be a cat in the first instance, when you’ve got nothing around you… Interviewer: No, I’m getting embarrassed. Interviewer: I’m getting embarrassed. Interviewee: It was so hot. Interviewee: I was sweating. Interviewee: I was, like, licking my paws. Interviewee: I was, like, trying to make leaps. Interviewee: Oh, my God. Interviewee: And it was, like, this guy is so beautiful and lithe and I’m just, like, a hoof of an Irish woman leaping across and licking her paws. Interviewee: A hoof. Interviewee: And, um, anyway, obviously, I didn’t get it. Interviewer: You didn’t get it.
Interviewer: No, but, uh, I will say, man, you’re fantastic in Hamnet. Interviewer: Oh, my goodness. Interviewer: You are unbelievable. Interviewer: Uh, you’ve won over 40 awards for Hamnet, okay? Interviewer: You’ve won a BAFTA, a Critics’ Choice Award, a Golden Globe. Interviewer: You just won an Actor Award this past Sunday, and you’re nominated for an Oscar for Best Lead Actress. Interviewer: Jesse Butler! Interviewer: Have you become… Interviewer: Have you become friends with all your other nominees, going to all these award shows? Interviewee: Yeah, I’ve made some really great friends. Interviewee: Um, like, Tiana Taylor, I love. Interviewee: She’s so fun. Interviewee: She’s unbelievable. Interviewee: She’s unbelievable in one battle after another. Interviewee: Yeah, she really is. Interviewee: I was so blown away by her, and I was like… Interviewer: The whole category is insane. Interviewee: Insane. Interviewee: And, like, yeah, it’s been gorgeous to spend time with her. Interviewee: And, you know, she’s a mama, I’m a new mama, and she brought her daughter to the Actor Awards the other day, and her daughter just, like, you can only imagine. Interviewee: She was like… Interviewer: Gorgeous. Interviewer: Yeah! Interviewee: And sang, and, like, she’s just so gorgeous. Interviewee: So, yeah.
Interviewer: That’s so fun. Interviewer: Uh, I also want to talk about The Bride, which is out on IMAX as well. Interviewer: This is a totally different role for you. Interviewer: And you actually did this. Interviewer: This is about The Bride of Frankenstein. Interviewer: Uh, this is… Interviewer: Yeah, it’s amazing. Interviewer: You did this right before Hamnet. Interviewee: Yeah, I shot in New York for three months, and, uh, had two weeks to kind of jump into Hamnet straight after that. Interviewer: And did you still… Interviewer: Did you have… Interviewer: Did you have eyebrows? Interviewee: No, I actually arrived back with, like, bleached eyebrows, bleached everything. Interviewee: Yeah. Interviewee: Um, and I got into the rehearsal room, and all the producers were like, Uh-oh. Interviewer: Oh, my God. Interviewer: Like, she’s meant to be a woman of the woods. Interviewer: How… Interviewer: Where does bleach come into this? Interviewer: Yeah, yeah. Interviewee: Exactly. Interviewee: And, um, they were having kind of conferences about my eyebrows. Interviewee: But, luckily, they grew back.
Interviewer: Uh, how do we set up The Bride, though? Interviewer: Because, man, you get to do a lot of great things in this movie. Interviewee: Yeah. Interviewee: It was such a trip. Interviewee: You know, at the core of it, it’s about love, about the misfits, about the monstrousness in us all. Interviewee: And Maggie Gyllenhaal, who wrote and directed it, got the idea from seeing a tattoo on a guy’s arm at a party one night. Interviewee: And she was like, right, The Bride of Frankenstein. Interviewee: What is that? Interviewee: And, um… Interviewer: Really? Interviewee: Yeah. Interviewee: And she went back and watched the film of The Bride of Frankenstein, and she’s in it for three minutes and says nothing. Interviewer: Is that correct? Interviewee: And so Maggie was like, well, what does she want to say? Interviewee: And then, um… Interviewee: You know, let’s fix this. Interviewee: Yeah. Interviewee: And so she wrote this incredible, like… Interviewee: I mean, when I read that script, it was like nothing I’d ever read before. Interviewee: And, um, it’s set in 1935 in Chicago. Interviewee: We meet our Frankenstein, who we call Frank, played by Christian Bale. Interviewer: Yeah, he’s great. Interviewee: And he’s amazing. Interviewee: And he goes to this mad scientist and says, I want you to reinvigorate a wife from me. Interviewee: And so he gets a different kind of wild wife. Interviewee: Not just a nice wife, but one that starts a revolution, and the two of them fall into a kind of mad Bonnie and Clyde rampage across America. Interviewer: Yeah. It’s fantastic. It’s so great. Interviewer: So entertaining, and you crush it. Interviewer: You’re really, really great. Interviewer: I want to show a clip. Interviewer: Here’s Jesse Buckley in The Bride. Interviewer: Take a look at this. Interviewer: I am a monster. Interviewee: Yeah. So am I. Interviewee: I don’t, I don’t want to let you go. Interviewee: I don’t, I don’t, I don’t think that’s my name anymore. Interviewer: Let’s find a new one. Let’s start over. Interviewee: Yeah. A new name. Interviewee: Yes. Yes. Yes! Interviewee: The Bride.
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