Jessie Buckley praises 'uncompromising and brave' director Maggie Gyllenhaal

Jessie Buckley has heaped praise on her frequent collaborator Maggie Gyllenhaal for being an "uncompromising" and "brave" director.

The Hamnet actress appeared in Gyllenhaal's feature directorial debut, 2021's The Lost Daughter, and stars in her next movie, The Bride!, a monster movie musical inspired by the Bride of Frankenstein.

Reflecting on working with the Secretary actress on both of her directorial efforts, Buckley said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, "That's somebody who's pushing the ceiling to like, let a new language come through. And Maggie is a punk through and through. She's uncompromising, she's brave, and to play in a sandpit as big as that for both of us was just thrilling."

The Wicked Little Letters star added that more female filmmakers need to be given the opportunity to make large-scale, big-budget movies like Gyllenhaal.

"We need more women playing in those sandpits in order to like, fill that space," she stated.

Set in 1930s Chicago, The Bride! sees Frankenstein's creature ask a doctor to create a companion for him. They give life to a murdered woman, sparking romance, police interest and radical social change.

Buckley plays the Bride alongside Christian Bale as Frankenstein's creature, and Annette Bening as the doctor, while Penélope Cruz, Gyllenhaal's brother Jake Gyllenhaal and husband Peter Sarsgaard also have roles.

Speaking of the project, the Irish actress gushed, "I had such a wild, creative time making that with her and Christian and the whole team... I'm really excited (for people to see it). I can't wait."

Buckley doesn't have long to wait as The Bride! will be released in cinemas in March 2026.

She is currently hot-tipped for an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her performance in Chloe Zhao's Hamnet, co-starring Paul Mescal. The tragic drama will be released in the U.K. on 9 January.