Jessie Buckley has a reality TV past that Americans are just now finding out about. Between her talent and cameos from Broadway legends, fans are loving it.
Buckley is having quite an exciting 2026. Not only can she currently be seen on the big screen in Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Bride, but she's also nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Hamnet. She's already won many awards for the film, including a BAFTA, an Actor Award, and a Golden Globe. While fans won't know for sure until the Oscars take place on March 15th, Buckley is currently the frontrunner to win Best Actress.
As for her reality TV past, Buckley competed in the 2008 show, I'd Do Anything. The series sought to cast Nancy and Oliver Twist in the 2009 West End revival of Oliver!. Buckley was the runner-up.
Interestingly, Buckley isn't the only Oscar nominee this year with a reality show history. Emma Stone is nominated for Best Actress for Bugonia, and she got her start on In Search of the Partridge Family, in which she was cast as Laurie Partridge in the unaired reboot pilot.
Teyana Taylor, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in One Battle After Another, was previously featured on My Super Sweet Sixteen.
Fans react to Jessie Buckley on I'd Do Anything
Buckley is known for an array of projects, including Wild Rose, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, and Women Talking. She received her first Academy Award nomination in 2022 for The Lost Daughter. Now, fans are talking about her reality TV lore.
"You HAVE to watch her origin story. She was on a dreadful reality TV programme in the UK with Andrew Lloyd Webber as a judge, and a couple of other judges (Denise Van Outen and John Barrymore) who spent the whole time belittling her and telling her she wouldn't amount to anything." u/rhomboidotis said on Reddit.
"This just made me realise the random contestant on Andrew Lloyd Webber's 2000s reality show who played a major role in my own personal curly hair journey was actually Jessie Buckley," @JennaGuillaume posted on X.
"I'm not a big fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber (aside from a couple of his musicals that I actually like, Jesus Christ Superstar is a masterpiece!), but you still have to respect that he was the only judge who really believed in Jessie Buckley, even though she didn’t end up winning the competition. He was basically like a mentor to her during the entire competition," @edwardbrgr shared.
"I loved this show. And it must be one of the most successful sets of reality show contestants of all time," u/kumran wrote.
"She was so impressive then at only 18! And she's only gotten better and better," u/RollingKatamari explained.
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s newsletter here.
