As we prepare for the 32nd Actor Awards presented by SAG-AFTRA, Backstage is breaking down this year’s film and television ensemble nominees for your consideration.
Main cast: Joe Alwyn‚ Jessie Buckley‚ Jacobi Jupe‚ Noah Jupe‚ Paul Mescal‚ and Emily Watson
Casting by: Nina Gold
Directed by: Chloé Zhao
Written by: Chloé Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell
Distributed by: Focus Features
Historical fiction that feels both modern and spiritual, Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel of the same name succeeds on the strength of its impeccable cast, who mine its speculative story—about how the death of William Shakespeare’s son influenced his work—and unearth deep, visceral emotion. As the Bard himself, Paul Mescal humanizes a mythic artist through discomforting imperfections, painting him as an eager but self-centered partner. Playing his self-assured wife, Agnes, Shakespeare’s partner in all joys and sorrows, Jessie Buckley roots the character’s mysticism in tragically familiar notions of loss and anguish, resulting in one of the most heartrending performances this year.
The movie’s supporting ensemble rounds out its emotional contours. As the couple’s wide-eyed son Hamnet, 12-year-old Jacobi Jupe delivers a remarkable blend of bravery and uncertainty, treading difficult emotional lines most adult actors might find challenging. His striking resemblance to Joe Alwyn, who plays Agnes’ brother Bartholomew, makes the film feel all the more like a family affair. And casting Jupe’s older brother Noah as the performer Shakespeare picks to play Hamlet—a dedicated novice pushed to his artistic limits—is one of the movie’s masterstrokes, deepening the resonance between Shakespeare’s greatest play and his greatest real-life tragedy.