Wild Rose star Jessie Buckley says working on film was a life-changing experience

Jessie Buckley laughs:“You’re going to be sick of me soon – I might just go and retire to my caravan by the sea.”

With upcoming parts in the Judy Garland biopic opposite Renee Zellweger, Ironbark with Benedict Cumberbatch, the new Doctor Doolittle film starring Robert Downey Jr, and Sky Atlantic’s mini-series about Chernobyl, we’re about to see a lot more of the 29-year-old Irish actor.

Up first, though, is Wild Rose, and it’s testament to how much she enjoyed the experience, considering what she’s done since, that she says “nothing else is going to be as fun as this”.

Jessie, who has previously starred in TV mini-series War & Peace, Taboo, The Last Post and The Woman In White, acts opposite Julie Walters in the Glasgow-set story of a young mum-of-two fresh out of prison who dreams of moving to Nashville and becoming a country music singer.

“I came over to Glasgow a few months before shooting to get a taste of what the city was and I met up with Phil Cunningham, who is in the film. We went for an Indian meal and had a great night out,” Jessie says.

“I didn’t love country music before, but Nicole (Taylor, the screenwriter) is a bible of country and she sent me these amazing songs and I began working with great musicians.

“Learning how to be honest and tell the stories in the music was life-changing – it’s changed how I sing, how I act, it’s changed everything.”

The director Tom Harper, who she worked with on War & Peace, introduced Jessie to the role. He said he would only do the project if she did.

“The script blew me away. I hadn’t really read an unpolished character like Rose-lynn for a long time,” she continues. “Usually leading ladies are glamorous, but she is as real as it comes.

“What I want from a character is the foibles, that’s what makes them human and this is about a struggle to want something for yourself and the mistakes you make while pursuing the dream.”

Performing opposite screen legend Julie Walters, who has a perfect Scottish accent, was a delight for Jessie.

“You dream you might have the chance to chat with someone like that, but to have the privilege of working with Julie, to create a relationship together and push each other, was something else.

“She is so down-to-earth and there’s no ego.”

Jessie first came to prominence in 2008, when she was runner-up to Jodie Prenger on BBC’s I’d Do Anything, the competition to find a new West End star.

She made the brave decision to return to academia and graduated from The Royal Academy of Dramatic At in 2013.

“I wanted to learn and to have something to say of myself in this industry, to add something to it rather than just be part of it,” she explains.

“Also, part of me wanted to be my own age, to hang out in a Friday afternoon in the pub with my friends, make mistakes privately, and read loads of plays and films.”

The decision has paid off, with a string of high-profile films coming up.

“They’ve all been amazing things and great little adventures,” she smiles.

“It feels like I’ve been massively out of my depth and learned a lot from each, and met amazing friends and people along the way.”

Wild Rose, Released on Fri