Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley on making sense of Shakespeare’s art with ‘Hamnet’

Actor Paul Mescal is photographed on the red carpet for the film "Hamnet" during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan

TORONTO — Paul Mescal says that to him, “Hamnet” feels so true it’s “almost like a documentary.”

On the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival, the star of the William Shakespeare biopic says there’s an emotional truth to the story, even though little is known definitively about the bard’s life.

“Hamnet” is based on the best-selling novel by Maggie O’Farrell and was adapted for screen by O’Farrell and director Chloe Zhao, at Mescal’s urging.

It tells the story of Shakespeare’s marriage to Agnes and the death of their son Hamnet, which inspires the playwright to pen “Hamlet.”

Though scholars know that Shakespeare had a son named Hamnet who died before “Hamlet” was written, there’s no historical record of how one may have influenced the other.

Even so, Mescal says the book — and the film adaptation — get at something real.

“This book and this script and this film is the closest thing to me that makes sense out of how we got the play ‘Hamlet,’” Mescal said.

“It’s fiction, but to me it feels like almost a documentary in terms of how do we make sense out where this piece of art came from.”

Mescal said he convinced Zhao to take on the project after he read O’Farrell’s novel, which was originally published in Canada under the title “Hamnet and Judith.”

“Hamnet” had its world premiere last week at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado, and its Canadian premiere at TIFF on Sunday.

It’s already receiving early Oscar buzz, with Jessie Buckley praised for her portrayal of Agnes.

Buckley has acted in several of Shakespeare’s plays, portraying Miranda in “The Tempest,” Perdita in “The Winter’s Tale” and Juliet in “Romeo & Juliet.”

She says she didn’t consciously bring that experience to her portrayal of Shakespeare’s wife, but she suspects Agnes will stay with her if she returns to the playwright’s work.

“He’s such a potent spectre in a lot of our lives and never really has been explored to see who the woman might be behind his language and the world that he creates,” she said Sunday.

“Having touched the edges of what that might be, I think if I was ever to play another great female Shakespearean character, she’d definitely be in the bloodstream somewhere there.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2025.

Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press