Viewers of The Diplomat want to learn more about Jess Chanliau, who recently appeared on the Netflix series.
The Diplomat, a political thriller created by Debora Cahn, has captured audiences with its high-stakes drama, leading to critical acclaim. Premiering Season 1 in April 2023, The Diplomat returned for a Season 2 on October 31 and was renewed for a third season.
Ronnie Buckhurst, played by Jess Chanliau, is an American foreign service officer in The Diplomat.
Meet Jess Chanliau - Biography Details
Jess Chanliau Graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Glasgow
Jess Chanliau brings an international perspective and a wealth of acting experience to their role.
With a unique cultural background—having been raised in France and the U.S.—Chanliau grew up bilingual, speaking French and English from an early age.
Their mother is Irish, and their father is French, contributing to a multicultural upbringing that later influenced their work on screen and stage.
Jess shared with The Journal of Shakespeare Appropriation their educational journey, leading to "the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland:"
"My mother is Irish and my father is French. I grew up speaking French and English. I was born in the U.S., but I attended collège and lycée (middle and high school) in France as well as Cours Florent, a theatre school. I returned to California for my final year of high school. I went on to attend the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Santa Maria and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. As an exchange artist from Scotland to France, I performed at the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique in Paris."
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, located in Glasgow, is a prestigious institution for dance, drama, music, production, and film. Founded in 1847, it is one of Scotland's busiest performing arts venues, hosting over 500 public performances annually.
Jess Was Inspired by Charlie Chaplin
Reflecting on their early inspirations with Traversing the Stars, Jess Chanliau shared how their childhood friendships and playful interactions helped shape their approach to performance.
Growing up, Jess "gravitated towards kids that were very playful and silly and didn't take things too seriously," and they found an early sense of performance in sports like soccer.
"I think probably my early influences are like other kids that I would like play with, childhood friends, I really gravitated towards kids that were very playful and silly and didn't take things too seriously. I also played football or soccer and I always felt that was a pretty kind of like performance show type thing.
When it comes to media influences, look no further than "Charlie Chaplan, Buster Keaton, and Lucille Ball."
"But I guess like media wise like on TV or film like I- the first thing that like really impacted me was seeing like bits of Charlie Chaplan and Buster Keaton and Lucille Ball."
They also mentioned The Big Comfy Couch as a childhood inspiration, noting that it was also how they learned to tell time.
Jess Previously Performed on Stage
Jess has an extensive stage background, including notable performances in Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet.
In a 2015 Royal Conservatoire of Scotland production, Chanliau portrayed Mercutio as a queer, gender-fluid character, embracing the role's "queer playfulness" and complex blend of privilege and frustration.
Jess shared how Mercutio's rebellious, carefree nature allowed them to explore personal themes of identity, class, and self-expression within the performance:
"With Mercutio, I found a queer playfulness that opened me up as a performer. He does not care what others think of him, and his attitude to life remains aloof. I loved that. I appreciated and related to his frustration with life and being unsatisfied as well as his eagerness to enjoy life and be gay. Mercutio also opened me up to the idea of class privilege and how I relate to that. I played Mercutio in the rangy, punky production at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2015. At that time, I did not talk openly about my sexuality and gender identity. I played Mercutio as a queer, gender fluid character. I interpret him as being pissed off and fundamentally unhappy, though he is privileged for coming from an upper-class family."
Jess Chanliau’s on-screen roles include the lead as Stone in Inmate Zero (2020) and an appearance in Brave New World (2020) as BJill23. They also contributed voice work to the video game Chorus (2021).
Jess Learned a Lot From Their Diplomat Co-Stars
Jess' role as Ronnie Buckhurst in The Diplomat became a crucial element of the Netflix drama’s storyline, especially in Season 2.
Ronnie, an American foreign service officer under Keri Russell’s character, Kate Wyler, was part of a car bombing attack that closed out Season 1.
While two other characters survive, Ronnie ultimately succumbs to severe injuries, a loss that creator Debora Cahn described as "killing an angel," adding emotional weight to the unfolding political tension between Kate and her husband, Hal.
[ Learn more about Celia Imrie's character in The Diplomat and their role in the car bombing ]
Reflecting on their experience with Traversing the Stars, Jess praised their co-stars, sharing how working closely with Ato Essandoh (Stuart) and Keri Russell was instructive and enjoyable.
They described Essandoh as a "master class in acting," appreciative of his patience in answering questions, and noted Russell's playful and positive attitude on set despite her busy schedule.
Jess also recalled moments of laughter with castmates like Ali Ahn and Nana Mensah, describing the entire group as a "fun and funny group of people" and expressing eagerness to work with them again in the future:
"It was so good. All of the casts that I worked with were so lovely....Just every single one of them. I mean I worked closest with Ato Essandoh who played Stewart and Pearl Mackie who played Alysse and Ato is like a master class in acting. And he was just so good about answering all of my my Noob questions and was really patient and Keri [Russell] too like for the amount that she had to do every day I saw her with a smile she was really chipper she was really nice and she was kind of like playful and silly which was really refreshing. All of them like were just like really fun to be around. In the Green Room one day I remember with Ali Ahn and Nana Mensah just like laughing and laughing and laughing like just really funny group of people, fun and funny group of people so would absolutely work with any of them again."
The Diplomat is streaming on Netflix. Read more about the star-studded cast of The Diplomat Season 2.
