Jessie Buckley's first screen appearance was a show-stopping performance on the BBC talent show, I'd Do Anything, which was designed to find an unknown actor to play Nancy in a West End revival of Oliver! Though she ended up finishing second, the series jumpstarted her acting career and allowed her to land a breakthrough role on the 2016 miniseries, War & Peace.
Recently, her career has exploded in popularity thanks to her appearances in the Netflix movies I'm Thinking of Ending Things and The Lost Daughter and her role in the Alex Garland horror drama, Men. For those looking to catch up on her work, IMDb voters have ranked the movies and TV shows they think are her best.
The Lost Daughter (2021) - 6.7
Maggie Gyllenhaal helmed one of the best directorial debuts of 2021, The Lost Daughter. The story follows Leda Caruso, an aging professor who reflects back on her life after a chance encounter with a young mother she feels strangely attached to.
Caruso is played in the movie's main timeline by Olivia Colman and in flashback sequences by Buckley. Both Colman and Buckley secured Academy Award nominations for their performances, and The Lost Daughter also received a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Judy (2019) - 6.8
A biopic intertwining the early life and final days of Judy features Renée Zellweger in a career-best role as the titular actress. Buckley appears as one of the narrative's most important ing characters, Garland's personal assistant Rosalyn Wilder.
One of Zellweger's best film roles earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress. Judy was also a financial success, bringing back more than four times its budget at the worldwide box office.
The Last Post (2017) - 7.2
BBC One's The Last Post is a war drama set in the 1960s. It examines life at the front lines during a historical turning point through the perspective of a British Army unit stationed with their families in Yemen.
Buckley has a leading role as Honor Martin, the newlywed wife of a soldier who becomes embroiled in conflicts happening at the military base itself. Though it only ran for one series, The Last Post was popular enough to draw in more than six million viewers on its debut.
Wild Rose (2018) - 7.2
Jessie Buckley plays Rose-Lynn Harlan, a country singer with dreams of stardom, in the musical drama Wild Rose. Fresh out of jail and having to juggle her personal life with her professional, Harlan's rise to the top is a story of perseverance and redemption.
Wild Rose was Buckley's first movie to attract serious awards-season attention, with her performance earning the highest praise from critics. She also received her first BAFTA nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role, ironically losing to Renée Zellweger in Judy.
The Courier (2020) - 7.2
The Courier stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Greville Wynne, a British businessman whose work travel made him an ideal candidate to gather information from Soviet spies in the midst of the Cold War. Buckley has a strong ing role as Wynne's wife, Sheila.
A gripping spy movie based on real events and launched into orbit by Cumberbatch's powerful lead performance, The Courier is a must-see for genre fans. It's one of Buckley's surest successes, receiving glowing reviews and making more than $25 million at the international box office.
War & Peace (2016) - 8.1
Wild Rose director Tom Harper also helmed BBC One's War & Peace, based on the legendary novel by Leo Tolstoy. The series is set during the Napoleonic Wars and follows the lives and loves of a group of Russian aristocrats, including Buckley's character, Princess Maria Bolkonskaya.
The epic period drama is over six hours long, but it earns every minute of its runtime. Dazzling audiences in her first major onscreen role, Buckley gives a performance that's easily one of the highlights of the series.
Taboo (2017) - 8.4
The drama series, Taboo, follows James Delaney, who returns to London from 12 years spent abroad to claim his father Horace's sizable inheritance. James' unexpected arrival creates a host of enemies for him, as he races to unravel the conspiracy at the heart of his father's death.
Buckley has a major role in the series as Lorna Bow, a West End actress who was married to Horace during the last years of his life. Though she did not receive awards consideration for Taboo, the series itself was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards.
Endeavour (2012 - ) - 8.6
Endeavour is a prequel to the ITV detective series Inspector Morse, which ran from 1987 to 2000. It follows the titular character of both series, Endeavour Morse, and his early days as a member of the Oxford City Police, beginning in 1965.
Jessie Buckley appears in the season 2 premiere of the series, "Trove," as Kitty Batten, a feminist protestor who becomes entangled in Morse's newest case. Though she did not become a recurring cast member, Buckley gave a fiery performance that foreshadows her future achievements.
Fargo (2014 - ) - 8.9
Based on Fargo is an anthology crime series where each season is set in a different location in the Midwestern United States. Jessie Buckley makes her debut in season 4, which follows the power struggle between two rival crime syndicates in 1950s Kansas City.
Buckley plays Oraetta Mayflower, a nurse whose cheery disposition hides a chilling secret. Her performance was lauded by critics, and she received a Satellite Award nomination for Best ing Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film.
Chernobyl (2019) - 9.4
Buckley's most acclaimed role to date is in the popular HBO Max miniseries Chernobyl, which dramatizes the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Through the eyes of those who responded to the disaster, viewers see the steps taken to contain it, then bear witness to the political cover-ups that led to it happening in the first place.
Buckley plays Lyudmilla Ignatenko, a pregnant woman whose husband, a firefighter, arrived on the scene in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Buckley's role in the series is one of her very best, and it's the performance that gave her major international attention for the first time.
