The Irish actor, who stars alongside Christian Bale in the highly anticipated reimagining of the classic Frankenstein story, discussed the role during a joint interview with Entertainment Tonight, where the two co-stars took turns asking each other questions about the film.
During the conversation, Bale asked Buckley about the physical transformation required for the role, which involved numerous costume changes and evolving looks throughout the story.
“The Bride had 23 different dresses, different wigs, several ink splatter effects. What's the part of the physical transformation you enjoyed or felt most proud of?” Bale asked.
Buckley explained that while the character appears in many different variations on screen, there was one central look that gradually changed as the story unfolded.
“Well I had one dress, one look that kind of got f**ked up as we went through the story and got kind of dissolved and wilder and marked by what's happened to her and how we've had to run around the world.”
For Buckley, the costumes were not simply visual elements but an essential part of discovering the character.
“The costumes are everything. That's the beginning you know, where you really step into it and figure out who these people are.”
She went on to praise legendary costume designer Sandy Powell, whose work on the film played a major role in shaping the look and tone of the production.
“Sandy Powell is the best in the business. The amount of detail and instinct she has about what it is and how it progresses.”
“You feel like you can invent in that and you can also feel safe and a structure for it to come to life with you. Same with the wigs and the makeup!”
@entertainmenttonight Jessie Buckley wore 23 different dresses in 'The Bride!', but one in particular stole the show. 👀 #jessiebuckley #thebride ♬ original sound - Entertainment Tonight
The Bride! is directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and is inspired by Mary Shelley’s classic Frankenstein story, as well as the iconic 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein. The new adaptation places the titular character — traditionally a brief but memorable figure in the original story — at the centre of the narrative.
Set in 1930s Chicago, the film follows a lonely Frankenstein who travels to resurrect a murdered woman, creating a companion for himself. But the revived Bride soon develops a will of her own, setting off a chaotic chain of events that explores identity, autonomy and transformation.
Buckley’s character undergoes a dramatic evolution across the story, which is reflected visually through her changing appearance — something the actor says helped her connect more deeply with the role.
The project marks another high-profile collaboration for Buckley, whose career has steadily grown since her breakout performance in Beast and her Academy Award–nominated role in The Lost Daughter.
Jessie Buckley has enjoyed a remarkable awards run for her performance as Agnes Shakespeare in Hamnet, picking up several of the industry’s most prestigious honours along the way.
The Killarney-born actor has already won Best Actress at the Golden Globe Awards, the BAFTA Film Awards, and the Critics Choice Awards for her emotional portrayal of Agnes, widely praised as one of the standout performances of the year.
With that momentum, Buckley has emerged as the clear frontrunner in the Academy Awards race, where she is nominated for Best Actress and widely predicted by industry analysts and betting markets to take home the prize. If she does win on Oscar night, Buckley would make history as the first Irish woman ever to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Meanwhile, Bale — known for some of the most dramatic physical transformations in modern cinema — takes on the role of Frankenstein’s monster in the film.
The actor has previously become famous for radically altering his body for films such as The Machinist and Vice, making the topic of on-screen transformation a fitting subject for the pair to discuss.
With its gothic aesthetic, star-studded cast and ambitious reinterpretation of a classic horror tale, The Bride! has already generated significant buzz ahead of its release. Buckley’s comments offer an early glimpse into the detailed creative process behind bringing the iconic character to life — one costume, wig and transformation at a time.
