'I adore her': Paul Mescal on his chemistry with Jessie Buckley in Oscar-tipped 'Hamnet'

Golden Globes-nominated actors attend Irish premiere of Chloé Zhao's adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell's novel

Irish actors Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley at the Irish premiere of 'Hamnet' at the Light House in Dublin. The film is released in cinemas nationwide on January 9. Picture: Andres Poveda

Despite the crisp Dublin air, eager film fans lined up, determined to catch a glimpse of Irish stars Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal as they arrived for the much-anticipated premiere of Hamnet.

The stars, who are both nominated for Golden Globes for their portrayals of Agnes and William Shakespeare, were joined by the film’s director, Chloé Zhao, and the film’s co-writer, Maggie O’Farrell, on whose best-selling novel the film is based.

At the Light House Cinema in Smithfield, the red carpet lit up as the stars greeted fans and fielded questions from the waiting press.

Hamnet delves into the fateful meeting of Agnes and William Shakespeare, their blossoming marriage, and the challenges brought by the Bard’s rising fame. 

The film poignantly follows their journey through grief after losing their young son — a loss that echoes through one of Shakespeare’s most iconic plays, Hamlet. 

With stirring performances, both leads are already sparking Oscar buzz.

Mescal, who found fame with the BBC adaptation of Sally Rooney’s book, Normal People, has already achieved significant critical acclaim and was Oscar-nominated for his sensitive portrayal of a young father in 2022’s Aftersun.

Paul Mescal paused to speak to media including the 'Irish Examiner' at the premiere of 'Hamnet' at the Light House in Dublin on Saturday. Picture: Bairbre Holmes/PA

While Buckley was whisked away after a brief stop at the media line, Mescal had time to answer burning questions. 

He and Buckley share immense chemistry on screen, and when asked whether being Irish enhanced it, he told the Irish Examiner that it was all down to his co-star's talent.

“If Jessie was from the North Pole, I would have chemistry with her," he said.

Maggie O’Farrell — who co-wrote the film based on her novel, 'Hamnet' — with lead actors Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, and director and co-writer Chloé Zhao at the film's premiere in Dublin. Picture: Andres Poveda

"I think it's nothing to do with where we're from, but also everything to do with where we're from. 

I think she's so extraordinary, and I think we want the same feeling when we work, and that's one of total freedom. 

"We were two actors who wanted to fall in love with the characters that we were playing, and by proxy, fall in love with each other.” 

Mescal says working with the Kerry actor made him want to approach acting differently from now on. He said: 

I absolutely adore her, and I felt so safe with her. And I also felt like working with her tore up the rule book for everything that I wanted to do moving forward.  

The Maynooth actor says bringing a film home is always a joy. 

“It's amazing. We've done it a couple of times now, coming back with Andrew [Scott] for All of Us Strangers and Gladiator [II] last year.

"It's so heartwarming and grounding to see people outside waiting in the cold and seeing the appetite for the film and for us coming home. 

"It's so lovely.” 

In love with Shakespeare

Mescal has appeared in seven Shakespearean plays and says that he had fallen out of love with the Bard, but Hamnet reignited the spark.

“I think I’d fallen out of love with him for a little bit. 

"The film opened up the fact that I think his brilliance doesn't exist in his words. 

"It exists in his understanding of the human condition and how he's able to frame things that feel universal, but they also feel like they're the first time somebody's ever said that, and I think that requires real bravery and being attuned to people. 

Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley in a scene from 'Hamnet' which is released in cinemas nationwide on January 9. Picture: Universal Pictures

"I think he's like one of the great empaths in literature.” 

Maggie O’Farrell, who first saw Mescal in an adaptation of James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in Dublin’s Gate Theatre in 2018 and hoped he would one day play Shakespeare, says she was delighted to bring the film to Ireland for its premiere.

She commented on whether the Irish connection helped Mescal and Buckley relate to each other.

“They're such brilliant actors that the minute someone shouts action, you completely forget, and you hear their flawless Warwickshire accents, but maybe you're right, maybe there is an Irish step to the soul that they can both reach.”

Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar Jones: The actors shot to fame with another screen adaptation of an Irish novelist's book, Sally Rooney's 'Normal People'. Picture: Element Pictures/Enda Bowe

The film’s director, Chloé Zhao, who won a best director Oscar for her 2020 film  Nomadland, feels that both actors are connected by Ireland’s deep history of storytelling and culture.

“I feel like Ireland preserved ancient rituals, and a way of life and way of storytelling in the waters, in this land that hasn't been completely erased," she said. 

"I think as storytellers growing up in this culture, in this land, they do share something quite ancient, and I think that comes through; they're bound by something older.”

Zhao says Mescal helped her unlock the keys to understanding Shakespeare.

“He said, ‘Don't worry about learning all the meanings of each line'.

"If it's performed really well, you will feel it, you know, because sometimes too much emphasis was put on the meaning as opposed to the feeling.”