She has spoken about her struggle with her mental health as a teenager and credited her love of music and theatre for helping with her recovery.
Irish actress Jessie Buckley has spoken about her struggle with her mental health as a teenager, and has credited her love of music and theatre for helping with her recovery.
Buckley, 36, from Killarney, Co Kerry, has been a juggernaut through awards season, receiving a string of awards for her performance as William Shakespeare’s wife Agnes Hathaway, historically known as Anne, in the adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel.
Buckley described acting as “essential” and said it is “like water to me”, adding that her passion for her craft helped her to overcome an eating disorder and depression during her school years.
READ MORE: Derry Girls star Nicola Coughlan has ‘no interest in body positivity’READ MORE: First look at Co Tyrone actor Fra Fee in upcoming Netflix psychological thriller
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs with Lauren Laverne, Buckley said: “I didn’t know how to be alive the way I wanted to be, and it was difficult.
“But I do not for a second regret it, and I think I’ve been able to transform it and recognise our vulnerabilities as humans in the world.
“You can’t walk through life not being affected, but you can transform that into something that allows you to be more human and alive in the way that you want to be.”
She continued: “When I moved to London, I still wasn’t out of the woods.
“I think there were moments where I was like, ‘if I don’t get better here, this music, this being part of theatre – I’m not going to be able to do this any more, and I probably won’t survive’.
“And that was the thing that turned it in my head, I was like, ‘I don’t want to sacrifice that, this is bigger than that’, and won.”
The actress, who has been nominated for an Oscar, remembered the first time she performed on stage and said: “It was like drinking water, you know? I just think, the more I did it, the more I realised this is essential to me.”
Buckley also recounted her time on BBC talent show I’d Do Anything, which was about the search for an actress to play Nancy in a West End production of Oliver!, and which catapulted her to fame.
In an interview with British Vogue in January, she spoke about being criticised for her appearance during her time on the show.
Speaking to Laverne, Buckley said: “I don’t like that part of it.
“I think that was a young woman who’s trying to discover her body and herself, like we all do. And I wish that hadn’t happened.
“I think I was putting a brave face on, because really what I wanted to do was sing and I wanted to act, and I wanted to be part of this industry, and all of a sudden you had to be a certain kind of person.
“And I just wasn’t, I never will be. That’s just not me.”
Buckley added: “I’m so proud of that girl. I think she did great and I don’t regret any of it.”
She also spoke about her “extraordinary” mother, and said: “My parents are no longer together, and she lives in Dublin, and she’s writing her own story right now at 60 years of age, and I’m so proud of her.”
She sounded emotional as she gave her first song choice, which was a rendition of her mother, Marina, singing O Holy Night in church.
Listen to the full Desert Island Disc episode on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4 from Sunday at 10am.
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our What’s On newsletter.