Jessie Buckley says her role in Hamnet has been "life-changing"

Speaking at an event the BFI Southbank in London, Jessie said: "I don't think you have any idea of an aftermath before you start, never, and if you do, you know that it's going to be the opposite of what you think it's going to be.

"So just better not think about it all. No, I mean, I had an emotional reaction when I read the book first.

"I think we (the cast) all felt like making it was such a special experience, but it's so vulnerable... that first moment when you share something that has really been such a personal, life-changing experience. It's so vulnerable.

"It's like giving birth. You're like, 'No, my baby', and then, it's OK. But I'm so thrilled and proud that a film like this and a story like this, and protagonists like this can have such an impact, that really it's kind of taken its own course in a way that I didn't know."

Buckley explained how she felt that the movie, which also stars Paul Mescal, was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her.

The Irish actress - who won a Golden Globe award for Hamnet last month - said: "I may never do anything like this ever again... sometimes just there's this collision, and this story met me at a point in my life, and... I feel like there's something about Hamnet, which in my work, was kind of leading me to tell this story at this moment in my life."

Jessie explained that she has been dealing with the success of Hamnet just months after welcoming a baby daughter with her husband Freddie Sorensen.

The Wild Rose star said: "I think I'm OK. People are asking me. I'm a new mum, I had a baby six months ago, so I'm changing nappies at 3am, and I think it's a gift.

"My work's done; this bit is about sharing it with the world. And the other stuff is something that, I guess, going into those rooms and places, I still am in awe that I'm around artists that have inspire me in ways that I couldn't even tell you because I would make an absolute fool of myself."