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She's favourite to land a best actress Oscar next Sunday. But 's journey to Hollywood stardom was almost halted at the outset by her very first trip to the theatre.
The Hamnet star says that as a child she was 'traumatised' by a production of 's Jesus Christ Superstar because she believed she'd seen a real-life crucifixion on stage.
She tells Sunday's episode of Desert Island Discs: 'The first play [my parents] ever took me to was Jesus Christ Superstar.
'I was so transported by watching this production, I genuinely thought a man had been crucified in front of my eyes. I was traumatised. I was on the floor sobbing.'
Ms Buckley, 36, tells presenter of the local am-dram production in her home town of Killarney, Co Kerry: 'My mum probably out of embarrassment or my dad had to ask could they bring me backstage to meet Mike Murphy, who had played Jesus, to show me he was okay.
'That was like the first kind of peek behind the curtain – the magic of theatre. It was so real.'
Jessie Buckley attended 'BFI Presents: Jessie Buckley in Conversation' at BFI Southbank at the end of January in London
Jesus Christ Superstar in Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London, in 2016
Perhaps ironically, given the trauma she had felt watching Jesus Christ Superstar, its composer Lord Lloyd-Webber played a pivotal role in the young Ms Buckley's rise to stardom.
He was one of the judges on BBC talent show I'd Do Anything which saw 17-year-old Ms Buckley battle for the role of Nancy in a production of Oliver!
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Although Ms Buckley was full of praise for Lord Lloyd-Webber's support, there were times when the show's obsession with her teenage looks left her feeling uncomfortable. Ms Buckley adds: 'I wish that hadn't happened... and I hope that doesn't ever happen to another young girl at that age.'
Ms Buckley, who was runner-up on the show to Jodie Prenger, now a Coronation Street actress, turned down the chance to be an understudy, preferring to study drama at Rada instead.
She is widely tipped to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Hamnet, which dramatises Shakespeare's life.
Desert Island Discs is on BBC Radio 4 Sunday at 10am and is available via BBC Sounds.
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