TimeOut Abu Dhabi – April 24, 2019

58 April 24 – 30 2019 timeoutabudhabi.com

Film

Edited by Paul Clifford

timeoutabudhabi.com/fi lms

Why Jessie Buckley is a reluctant movie star.

By Isabelle Aron

Into the

spotlight

JESSIE BUCKLEY FIRST appeared on television

when she was 17. Not as an extra in a period

drama but in the BBC talent show I’d Do

Anything, which aimed to Ànd a new Nancy

for the stage show of Oliver! in London’s West

End. She came second.

“It feels like a whole other life,” she admits.

Twelve years on and the Irish actress has now

made period epics for the channel (Taboo,

War & Peace) as well as the leap into movies

with 2018’s thriller Beast.

In her latest Àlm, Wild Rose, she plays

a single mum from Glasgow chasing her

musical dreams. Turns out coming second

opens plenty of doors.

You play a wannabe country star in Wild Rose.

Have you ever met any of your music heroes?

When we wrapped in Nashville, me and a

friend did a road trip and I met Bonnie Raitt.

I sat in the audience and wailed. When I went

backstage to meet her, I couldn’t even string

a sentence together.

What was your favourite scene to shoot?

I really loved singing [Chris Stapleton’s] Outlaw

State of Mind. It just was a massive party. All

the hen party extras were having a blast.

Who were the hen party extras?

Women we’d met on the estate in [Glasgow

suburb] Maryhill. I was going to set one day

and they were all having a great time. When

I came into work the next day, they’d brought

me doughnuts. It was only right I brought

them down.

Was it hard to master the accent?

I was really scared so I worked on it for three

or four months, including a month based

in Glasgow, before Àlming. I’d speak in a

Glaswegian accent and hope that I’d be able

to order a bag of chips.

Did you pull off the subterfuge?

I think so. They didn’t go: “You’re lying!”

There’s a lot of talk about you being on the verge

of something big. Do you ever think about stuff

like that?

I don’t really know what that is. I feel like I’ve

had loads of moments – like when I got into

RADA or getting the part in Beast. Everything

adds up.

What do you think about fame – do you want to be

in the spotlight?

I don’t want to be anywhere near a spotlight!

Only if I’m performing. It doesn’t really affect

my life. I cycle, I go swimming, I cook with

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