Hamnet Leads Oscar Race
Sam Mendes's "Hamnet" is leading this year's Oscars with 8 nominations and BAFTAs with 11 nominations. Mendes and Chloé Zhao discussed the emotional toll of directing at a recent London event, highlighting both the creative intensity and mental health costs of the role.
- The film was directed by Chloé Zhao, who previously won the Best Director Oscar for "Nomadland"; Sam Mendes served as a producer on the project. - "Hamnet" is based on the best-selling 2020 novel of the same name by author Maggie O'Farrell, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Zhao. - The plot imagines the life of William Shakespeare's wife, Agnes (played by Jessie Buckley), and explores how the death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet, may have led to the creation of the tragedy "Hamlet." - For her leading role as Agnes, Jessie Buckley has already won the Golden Globe Award and the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress. - The film also stars Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare, Emily Watson as his mother Mary, and Joe Alwyn as Agnes's brother Bartholomew. - At the recent London event, Chloé Zhao spoke about the personal sacrifices of her career, saying, "You can't transform without letting something die," and acknowledging she may have to give up the possibility of having children. - Sam Mendes, during the same conversation, described the unique pressures of directing, noting that unlike actors, a director has "no outlet" to express excitement or frustration during a take without disrupting the process. - Before its theatrical release, the film had its world premiere at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival and also won the People's Choice Award at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.
