It’s a known fact to viewers that the Oscars and other indulgent cinema award ceremonies have long prioritized political, feminist messaging over the art and family values normal people hold dear. But that is exactly why actresses like Jessie Buckley make headlines when they use their platforms to break this trend by honoring their husbands and children ahead of themselves.
Buckley was awarded best actress at the Oscars Sunday evening for her role as a wife and a mother in Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet. Her acceptance speech showed, however, this is not just a role she plays on screen.
“You, Fred, I love you, man. I love you,” Buckley said after pointing to her husband Freddie Sorensen in the audience. “You’re the most incredible dad, you’re my best friend, and I want to have 20,000 more babies with you. I do, I do!”
The camera cut to a shot of a teary Sorensen smiling at his wife’s words as some in the audience cheered. Buckley then turned her attention to their eight-month-old baby girl.
“And Isla, my little girl, who is eight months, who has absolutely no idea what’s going on and is probably dreaming of milk. … I love you, and I love being your mom, and I can’t wait to discover life beside you,” she said.
Buckley went on to say that playing the role of Agnes in Hamnet helped her “understand the capacity of a mother’s love,” and the experience was the “greatest collision of [her] life.” In light of the awards ceremony corresponding with Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom, Buckley concluded by dedicating her award to “the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart.”
Hamnet, based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell, follows William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes (also historically known as Anne Hathaway), as they grieve the death of their young son. Historians and others have theorized that the tragedy inspired Shakespeare’s famous Hamlet, a connection which the novel and movie explore.
Buckley and Sorensen got married in 2023, and were not yet parents when the former was filming for her role as Agnes. In fact, Buckley reportedly indicated that not yet being a mother contributed to her uncertainty about playing the role. According to the BBC, she “confesse[d] she was ‘conscious and scared’ of whether she could portray the character and story ‘as honestly and bravely and humanly as possible.’” She was especially nervous to film the part of the movie that takes place at the iconic Globe Theatre, where the movie shows Hamlet unveiled for the first time.
“For the first four days, I was completely lost. I felt untethered. I didn’t know where to go, you know, and then I realised that’s incredibly human to be lost, and that is absolutely Agnes’ story to be lost,” she told the outlet.
Just as Buckley apparently felt “untethered,” “not confident at all,” and “totally overwhelmed” by the task of playing a grieving mother, so many women today seem to feel similarly about the prospect of becoming a mother at all. As the marriage and birth rates in the U.S. continue to decline or remain at concerning lows, many women seem to be overwhelmed by the dismal state of the economy and the dating pool, or they see investing in a career as the only means to a future. They are also bombarded by corporate media, influencers, and movies essentially telling them to give up on family and focus on themselves.
Whether Buckley’s overall worldview leans to the right or the left politically, in the midst of such a disorienting, selfish atmosphere, comments like hers highlight the assurance and purpose family can bring. They serve as a tether for women who do hope for more, whether it be investing in lifelong friendships, a husband you want to have thousands of babies with, or children beside whom you can “discover life.”
