JESSIE BUCKLEY HAS won the Best Leading Female Actor award for her role in Hamnet at the 32nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles.

The Kerry woman received the award for her performance as Agnes, William Shakespeare’s wife at the newly rebranded Actor Awards.

The latest win comes just over a week after Buckley took the Bafta for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

“I have been categorically changed by so many people in this room and beyond,” Buckley said last night.

“To get to work with my heart in my hand and stand beside my brilliant, daring friends who show me their heart — I mean, what a way to spend a life.”

Buckley also paid tribute to her Hamnet co-star Emily Watson: “Your wild imagination, your brave untethered womanhood and your ferocious gentleness have been a guiding light to me.”

“You’re the realest of the real. I love and cherish being part of this community. I hope I can continue to offer something meaningful back,” she added.

Voting for the Academy Awards closes until Thursday, meaning the Actor Awards results could be influential.

Jessie Buckley Wins Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for ‘Hamnet’ at the #ActorAwards pic.twitter.com/n3xHHXtGsZ

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 2, 2026

Sinners scooped the top prize at the gala last night. The honour recognises the ensemble cast of a film – a decision that sometimes, but not always, presages Academy Award best picture glory.

Ryan Coogler’s vampire fable about America’s difficult racial history, has stormed through awards season, garnering a record 16 Oscar nominations.

“We brought our hearts, we brought our souls, we brought our spirits to this endeavor,” said Delroy Lindo, who plays blues musician player Delta Slim, as he accepted the award on behalf of the cast.

“This project is anointed. And from that standpoint, we are all anointed to be a part of this incredible journey created by the genius Ryan Coogler.”

It was the first time Sinners seized a top prize at a pre-Oscars gala, which have so far been largely swept by One Battle After Another, including at the Producers Guild Awards on Saturday.

Li Jun Li, Omar Benson Miller, Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo, Michael B. Jordan, Jack O'Connell, Jayme Lawson, Miles Caton, and Lola Kirke, winners of the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Award for Sinners. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle is a political thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a pot-addled former revolutionary forced back into the game when his teenage daughter goes missing.

Sinners may have had the upper hand with SAG-AFTRA, which represents more than 160,000 members – but that may not hold true in two weeks’ time for the Academy Awards.

The Pitt and The Studio took top television honours at the gala hosted by the Screen Actors Guild.

List of key Actor Award winners

Film

Best cast in a motion picture: Sinners

Best leading male actor: Michael B Jordan, Sinners

Best leading female actor: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet

Best supporting male actor: Sean Penn, One Battle After Another

Best supporting female actor: Amy Madigan, Weapons

Best stunt ensemble: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning”

Television

Best ensemble, drama series: The Pitt

Best male actor, drama: Noah Wyle, The Pitt

Best female actor, drama: Keri Russell, The Diplomat

Best ensemble, comedy series: The Studio

Best male actor, comedy: Seth Rogen, The Studio

Best female actor, comedy: Catherine O’Hara, The Studio

Best male actor, limited series or TV movie: Owen Cooper, Adolescence

Best female actor, limited series or TV movie : Michelle Williams, Dying for Sex

Best stunt ensemble, comedy or drama: The Last of Us

- With additional reporting from AFP