The Best Jessie Buckley Performances Ranked and Where To Watch Them

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Since her on-screen debut in the BBC talent series, I’d Do Anything in 2008, Jessie Buckley has been at the forefront of some of the biggest films and TV series. From Women Talking to Fingernails, read on to discover all of Jessie Buckley’s best performances and where you can watch them.

Early into her career, the Irish actress became known for her role in television series such as War & Peace, as well as independent films such as Taboo, Beast and Wild Rose. After the modest success in these roles, Buckley joined the cast of the 2019 historical drama, Chernobyl, alongside Jared Harris, Paul Ritter and Stellan Skarsgård.

The five-part series details the horrific 1986 disaster at Chernobyl and the years that followed, which received wide-spread critical acclaim for the way the series handled the difficult subject matter. Overall, the show received nineteen Primetime Emmy nominations and took home three awards, while it also won the Golden Globe for Best Miniseries or Television Film.

Shortly after, Buckley joined the fourth season of the award-winning crime drama, Fargo, and landed the lead role in Netflix’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things. The psychological thriller received positive reviews, especially for Buckley’s performance alongside her co-stars Jesse Plemons, Toni Collette and David Thewlis.

Over the years, Buckley has appeared in various different genres; as part of the ensemble in the Robert Downey Jr-led fantasy adventure, Dolittle, one of the lead roles in the biopic Judy and in the British comedy-drama, Misbehaviour.

More recently, Buckley appeared in the adaptation of Miriam Toew’s novel of the same name, Women Talking. Despite its humble box office success of $9 million, the film received rave reviews after its debut at the Telluride Film Festival and won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

She also starred in the science-fiction romantic drama, Fingernails, alongside Riz Ahmed and Jeremy Allen White, which explored whether love can ever be quantified for people to be a 100% match with each other.

Arguably though, it is Buckley’s performance in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut, The Lost Daughter, that has brought the actress the most acclaim. The 2021 psychological drama follows Leda (Olivia Coleman) on her seaside vacation who becomes fixated on a mother and daughter duo who are staying nearby, as it triggers a deep period of reflection for her. For her supporting role in the film, Buckley was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

The actress has collaborated with her former co-star Coleman once again for the outrageously funny, black comedy, Wicked Little Letters, which debuted in cinemas in February. Both stars take on the leading roles as neighbors, where Edith (Coleman) is convinced that Rose (Buckley) is writing nasty letters to her, so detectives have to step in to solve this small-town mystery.

With an impressive filmography to digest, here are the best Jessie Buckley films and TV series ranked and where to stream them.

  1. The Lost Daughter

    The Lost Daughter

    2021

    IMDB 6.7 (75k)

    #1

    A woman's seaside vacation takes a dark turn when her obsession with a young mother forces her to confront secrets from her past.

  2. Women Talking

    Women Talking

    2022

    IMDB 6.9 (41k)

    #2

    A group of women in an isolated religious colony struggle to reconcile their faith with a series of sexual assaults committed by the colony's men.

  3. Wicked Little Letters

    #3

    When people in Littlehampton--including conservative local Edith--begin to receive letters full of hilarious profanities, rowdy Irish migrant Rose is charged with the crime. Suspecting that something is amiss, the town's women investigate.

  4. Chernobyl

    Chernobyl

    2019

    IMDB 9.3 (863k)

    #4

    The true story of one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history: the catastrophic nuclear accident at Chernobyl. A tale of the brave men and women who sacrificed to save Europe from unimaginable disaster.

  5. Fargo

    Fargo

    2014

    IMDB 8.9 (421k)

    #5

    Various chronicles of deception, intrigue, and murder in and around frozen Minnesota. All of these tales mysteriously lead back one way or another to Fargo, North Dakota.

  6. Fingernails

    Fingernails

    2023

    IMDB 5.8 (7k)

    #6

    Anna and Ryan have found true love together. It’s been proven by a controversial test. There’s just one problem: Anna still isn’t sure. Then she meets Amir.

  7. Taboo

    Taboo

    2017

    IMDB 8.3 (148k)

    #7

    Adventurer James Keziah Delaney returns to London from Africa in 1814 along with fourteen stolen diamonds to seek vengeance after the death of his father.

  8. Wild Rose

    Wild Rose

    2019

    IMDB 7.1 (15k)

    #8

    A young Scottish singer, Rose-Lynn Harlan, dreams of making it as a country artist in Nashville after being released from prison.

  9. I'm Thinking of Ending Things

    #9

    Nothing is as it seems when a woman experiencing misgivings about her new boyfriend joins him on a road trip to meet his parents at their remote farm.

  10. War and Peace

    War and Peace

    2016

    IMDB 8.1 (26k)

    #10

    A story that revolves around five aristocratic families, set during the reign of Alexander I, and centered on the love triangle between Natasha Rostova, Pierre Bezukhov, and Andrei Bolkonsky.

  11. Beast

    Beast

    2018

    IMDB 6.8 (15k)

    #11

    A troubled woman living in an isolated community finds herself pulled between the control of her oppressive family and the allure of a secretive outsider suspected of a series of brutal murders.

  12. Judy

    Judy

    2019

    IMDB 6.8 (54k)

    #12

    Thirty years after starring in "The Wizard of Oz," beloved actress and singer Judy Garland arrives in London to perform sold-out shows at the Talk of the Town nightclub. While there, she reminisces with friends and fans and begins a whirlwind romance with musician Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband.

  13. The Courier

    The Courier

    2020

    IMDB 7.2 (73k)

    #13

    Businessman Greville Wynne is asked by a Russian source to try to help put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

  14. Misbehaviour

    Misbehaviour

    2020

    IMDB 6.3 (10k)

    #14

    A group of women involved in the Women's Liberation Movement hatched a plan to invade the stage and disrupt the live broadcast at the 1970 Miss World competition in London, resulting in overnight fame for the newly-formed organization. When the show resumed, the results caused an uproar and turned the Western ideal of beauty on its head.

  15. Men

    Men

    2022

    IMDB 6.1 (62k)

    #15

    In the aftermath of a personal tragedy, Harper retreats alone to the beautiful English countryside, hoping to find a place to heal. But someone — or something — from the surrounding woods appears to be stalking her, and what begins as simmering dread becomes a fully-formed nightmare, inhabited by her darkest memories and fears.

  16. Dolittle

    Dolittle

    2020

    IMDB 5.6 (60k)

    #16

    After losing his wife seven years earlier, the eccentric Dr. John Dolittle, famed doctor and veterinarian of Queen Victoria’s England, hermits himself away behind the high walls of Dolittle Manor with only his menagerie of exotic animals for company. But when the young queen falls gravely ill, a reluctant Dolittle is forced to set sail on an epic adventure to a mythical island in search of a cure, regaining his wit and courage as he crosses old adversaries and discovers wondrous creatures.