Céline Buckens

Céline Buckens (born 9 August 1996) is a Belgian-British actress. After appearing in the film War Horse (2011), she went on to play Mia MacDonald in the Netflix series Free Rein (2017–2019) and Sophie Mercer in the Cinemax series Warrior (2020). For her performance in the BBC drama Showtrial (2021), she was nominated for a British Academy Television Award and an International Emmy Award. She has also starred in the Paramount drama The Ex-Wife (2022–present), The Castaways (2023) and Suspect (2024).

Early life and education

Buckens was born on 9 August 1996 in Brussels and moved to England at a young age, where she grew up in Kensington, London. Her parents worked as an academic and a fund manager.

Buckens attended Thomas's London Day School and St Mary's, Ascot. She then studied history at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She appeared in Free Rein while completing her course. She was also a debutante at the Bal des débutantes in Paris.

Career

Buckens' acting career began when she portrayed Émilie in Steven Spielberg's 2011 film War Horse, a role she won after two auditions. The character is a young French girl who lives on a farm with her grandfather after she lost her parents in the war. In 2015, Buckens starred in a short film titled The Rain Collector, in the role of Vanessa Kentworth. From 2017 to 2019, Buckens starred in the Netflix drama series Free Rein as Mia MacDonald. She also appeared in an episode of the ITV drama Endeavour in 2017, as Daisy Bennett.

In 2018, Buckens starred in Ne M'oublie Pas (English: Forget Me Not), a French short film, as lead character Elsa. In 2019, she appeared in the drama thriller film The Good Liar as Annalise. That same year, it was announced that Buckens had joined the main cast of the Cinemax action series Warrior. She portrayed the role of Sophie Mercer in the second series.

In 2021, Buckens portrayed Talitha Campbell in the BBC legal drama Showtrial. For her portrayal of the role, she was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as receiving a nomination for the International Emmy Award for Best Actress. Buckens also made her directorial debut in 2021, directing the short film Prangover, for which she was awarded Best Director at the 2021 North East International Film Festival.

In 2022, Buckens starred in the Paramount series The Ex-Wife. It was renewed in 2024, with Buckens returning for the second series. In 2023, she signed on to star in another Paramount series, The Castaways. In 2025, she is set to star in the upcoming Hulu thriller series The Kollective.