Buckley is openly gay. He has been widowed twice. He lived with Broadway dancer Timothy Scott from 1983 until Scott’s death in 1988. In 2004, Buckley met artist Davyd Whaley and they moved-in together. They married as soon as they were able, during a brief window of legal opportunity in the state of California, and remained married up to Whaley’s death on October 15, 2014.

Buckley has been nominated twice for an American Cinema Editors award: in 2003, for Joe and Max, for Best Edited Motion Picture for Non-Commercial Television; and in 2008, for the pilot for Chuck, for Best Edited One-Hour Series for Commercial Television. He won the latter award at the ACE banquet on February 17, 2008.

Buckley is most known for his directing work on the television series Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl. In late 2011 he directed his first movie for Lifetime “The Pregnancy Project”. He began his career as an assistant editor on the 1983 film Tender Mercies, which featured his sister, actress Betty Buckley, who helped him land the job after hearing that the film’s editor was seeking a local assistant while on location in Waxahachie, Texas. The editor was pleased with Buckley’s work and took him to New York City to begin his career. Since then, he has worked on many films, television series and made-for-TV movies as an editor. He landed a job —as both an editor and director on The O.C. due to his connections with Stephanie Savage and McG, after working with them on the television series Fastlane. Following The O.C.’s conclusion, Buckley followed Schwartz to direct and edit his next projects, Gossip Girl and Chuck.