Name: Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley reveal the real surprise in Hamnet
Uploaded: 2025-11-27T17:37:06.990Z
Duration: 5 min 32 s
Description: Can you guess which scene has some sharp reality to it?

Can you guess which scene has some sharp reality to it?

Los Angeles

In an interview about the film 'Hamnet,' Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley discuss their experiences and approaches to their roles. Mescal describes the challenge and anxiety of performing Shakespeare's iconic 'to be or not to be' soliloquy, emphasizing his effort to portray Shakespeare as the creator of the words rather than Hamlet himself. Buckley highlights the depth of her character Agnes, focusing on her wild, elemental nature and independence, as depicted in Maggie O'Farrell's book.

A notable moment in the film involved a genuine surprise for Buckley, when the child actors performed a scene from Macbeth without her prior knowledge, resulting in an authentic reaction. Both actors reflect on the strong familial bond formed on set, with Mescal praising the professionalism and warmth of the young cast members.

Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley reveal the real surprise in 'Hamnet'

We also didn't let Jessie know that we were gonna do that. Yeah. No. Tell me a story. What story would you like? Something that moves you. Paul, your character is quite famous. Yes, yeah. And arguably one of the most famous soliloquies ever written is Hamlet's to be or not to be speech. You get to deliver this as Shakespeare in a truly devastating... Your performance in this scene is so devastating that I don't think I'll ever recover. Thanks very much. How did you approach this interpretation of the scene? That was probably something that caused me great anxiety. It's like you have to... Probably. Probably, all he was saying, great anxiety, be Shakespeare, but also say Shakespeare and also say that speech. It's THE Shakespeare. Yeah, you have to, like... That was always kind of one of the big technical challenges of it, but I think the more we got into the shoot, the more I started to feel like, as an actor, whenever I've approached Shakespeare before, it's like this sacred text, and to me subjectively playing Shakespeare within it, it's like, oh, no, these are words that has cost parts of his life to write. They're not words on a page. They come from him. So there was kind of a slight freedom in that, or I led into that to kind of make it feel like I could survive the spiders in my mind when I was speaking at all. So, yeah, I feel very proud of that, having seen the film back. I mean, your pal Andrew Scott has also done Hamlet. He's also done it, yeah. Did you speak to him about this role? I didn't, actually, because I think that it's so... I was keen to distinguish that I wasn't playing Hamlet in that scene. I was Will... ..coming up with those words. It's a distinction to make. I think it's such an... That role in particular for every actor is such an individual thing as any role that's like repeated like that is. So I'm keen to know what he thinks when he sees it. What are you doing? Agnes is this beautiful character that is described in Maggie O'Farrell's book as too wild for any man, and her connection to nature and healing and herbalism is a massive part of her story. What did you love exploring about these elements of Agnes? I love exploring being too wild for any man. No, I loved the... ..like... ..she's... ..like elemental, you know? Every ounce of her is full and she has such a kind of uncompromising sense of herself and who she is, even in a world that's beginning to judge what that wildness or... ..capacity to love and live is, as a woman, as a wife, as a mother, and she's unexpected, you know? She doesn't live by protocol. She's making up her own narrative and her own language. What do you wish to do, Hamlet? I should be one of the players with a sword. Sword? Yes, and I shall cast it against the sword of the other player. So am I. The bond that you have with the young actors who play your children in this film is so beautiful to watch and equally devastating. But one of my favourite scenes is when the three children perform Macbeth, which is saying... Oh, that's one of mine, too. We also didn't let Jessie know that we were going to do that. Yeah. No. So that was an actual surprise that had been... I rehearsed the kids with the start of Fairest Fowl and Foulest Fair from Macbeth. So that shot on Jessie with her eyes closed, that was so... That was one of my favourite... Me too, and little Jacoby absolutely loved doing it. Bodying it, taking it so seriously. And Bodhi having an absolute nightmare. Bodhi just did not want to be doing that. The older sister being like, oh, Dad. I mean, in scenes like that, we feel like we're watching a genuine family. Did you become family on the set? Very, very much. It sounds a bit sincere, but it was just kind of true. I had to spend a week away from them and it felt like it mirrored the act of the film. I missed the gang when they were working. But they're amazing, not just children, but amazing actors as well that were both easy to admire in terms of their professionalism and their talent, but also just the most glorious children to love and spend time with. What do you see? What do you see? You will live.

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