Jessie Buckley sets pulses racing with comment about Paul Mescal at Critics Choice Awards

Jessie Buckley raised some eyebrows as she showered her Hamnet co-star Paul Mescal with praise after her Best Actress win at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards.

The Irish actor, 36, alluded to Mescal’s heartthrob status as she accepted the award from Jeff Goldblum on Sunday.

“Chloé Zhao, you have reminded me of the power of telling a story and the journey that you can go on to touch the deepest parts of what it is to be alive,” she began, addressing Hamnet's writer-director, Zhao, 43.

“Paul, I bloody love you, man. And I know loads of other women do in this room too, but tough s***!” she joked as cameras panned to Mescal, 29, laughing.

She continued: “I could drink you like water working with you every single day. You’re a giant of the heart and thank you so much for making me a little more human.”

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Buckley’s comments left the Normal People star red-faced as he buried his head in his hands.

On X, fans joked about the phrasing of Buckley’s praise.

“Drink him like water? Girl,” one person wrote alongside a Niecy Nash meme.

“Come on relax!” begged another.

“Jessie Buckley saying ‘I could drink you like water’ just instantly raised the standard for romantics worldwide,” added a third.

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Fellow Irish actor Mescal stars as William Shakespeare in Hamnet, a film exploring the Bard’s marriage to his wife, Agnes, and the profound grief following their young son's death.

Buckley plays Agnes, with both actors earning Golden Globe nominations for their performances in the historical drama, which is adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel of the same name.

Speaking at the London Film Festival premiere in October, Mescal similarly lauded his co-star, describing her as “a red wine actor” who he’d work with “until the cows come home.”

The cast also includes Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn, Jacobi Jupe, Noah Jupe and Olivia Lynes.

In August, Zhao talked about working with Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes, who produced Hamnet.

“Their feedback was very filmmaker-driven because they are both incredible filmmakers, so when they gave me notes, they were already infused with what they knew was my style,” she told Vanity Fair.

“Even when I did things that probably were confusing or didn’t make sense to people, they would say, ‘You know what? We trust her. Let her do her thing,’” she said.

Buckley’s competition at this year's Critics Choice Awards included Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I'd Kick You), Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), Amanda Seyfried (The Testament of Ann Lee) and Emma Stone (Bugonia).

You can find the full list of this year’s winners here.