‘I Wanted to Live on for Hamnet’: Jacobi Jupe Breaks Down in Tears, Consoled by Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal

Twelve-year-old Jacobi Jupe, who plays the title role in “Hamnet,” broke down in tears during the Variety interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, describing the devastation of embodying William Shakespeare’s ill-fated son, and calling the experience “life-changing.”

“It was so utterly devastating,” Jupe says, pausing as he grew emotional. “When I ended that shoot, there was one thing that I wanted to do, and it was probably to live on for Hamnet because I don’t think it was fair on him.”

As he struggled to continue, Jupe was consoled by his on-screen parents, Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, who embraced him during the emotional moment. A boy beyond his years, with the support of a fantastic cast and filmmaking crew.

For Buckley, who recently became a mother herself, playing Agnes — Shakespeare’s wife — carried additional weight.

“I don’t know if anything really fully prepares you completely for motherhood,…