The brightly-burning star that is Jessica Chastain
"Zero Dark Thirty" is just one of the many films that introduced Jessica Chastain to movie fans virtually all at once. Her success is the payoff for a long waiting game, as we hear from Tracy Smith in our Sunday Profile:
Before "Zero Dark Thirty" was ever made, we knew the ending -- that Navy SEALs would kill Osama Bin Laden.
What we didn't know is that Jessica Chastain, as CIA agent Maya, could be even more scary than the guys with the guns.
MAYA: "You just want me to nail some low-level guy so you can check the box on your resume that says while you were in Pakistan you got a real terrorist. But the truth is you don't understand Pakistan and you don't know al Qaeda. Either give me the team I need to follow this lead or the other thing you're gonna have on your resume is being the first station chief to be called before a Congressional Committee for subverting the effort to capture or kill bin Laden."
Smith said, "There's an intensity there that seems like, perhaps, it is a part of you. Are you that intense, sometimes at least?"
"I can be," Chastain said. "There many more differences between Maya and myself than similarities. She is someone who doesn't care at all what other people think. That's not me!"
In the past five years, Jessica Chastain has gone from virtual unknown to one of the hottest names in Hollywood: a bankable star, no matter what the role.
Her latest film, "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby," is about a happy couple hit with a heart-rending tragedy. It's actually three separate films: one shot from his point of view (titled "Him"), one from hers ("Her"), and the combined version ("Them").
"It begs the question: can you love someone enough to let them go?" Chastain said. "And hope that they could come back, but know that they may not?"
It's the perfect part for an actress who like to lose herself in her roles.
To capture the serenity of the mother she played in 2011's "The Tree of Life," director Terrence Malick told her to go to New York's Metropolitan Museum and study Madonnas, such as one by Raphael.
"I can look at it and then I can take inspiration from it," Chastain said.
Her own childhood wasn't quite as ornate. Growing up in Sacramento, Calif., Chastain's early life was pretty short on glamour.
"We definitely didn't have money," she said. "I remember one time asking my mom -- I wanted to go to a concert, probably New Kids on the Block, I think it was! -- and I said, 'Can I have $20? I'll, you know, clean the house or whatever.' And she's just like, 'I don't have it.'"
What Jessica DID have was a clear vision of a life on the stage, for as long as she can remember.
"My grandmother took me to a play when I was, like, seven years old," she said. "There was a little girl on stage, and as soon as I saw that a little girl was on stage doing it as her job, it's just clicked in my head, like, 'This is my job.'"
And it seemed to be her destiny. Even though there was no way she could afford it, Chastain auditioned for New York's famed Juilliard School. Not only did she get in, she got a full scholarship, paid for by someone she'd never met -- Robin Williams, who died last month.
"Did you get a chance to meet Robin Williams and thank him?" Smith asked.
"Sadly, no, which will probably be an incredible regret in my life," Chastain replied.
She did send him two thank-you letters. But by any measure, she did him proud.
At first, she paid her dues with bit parts on shows like "E.R." But in 2006, almost out of the blue, Al Pacino asked her to read for the title role of the Oscar Wilde play, "Salome."
That audition was a turning point.
"I could hear from the audience, but not see them, you know, 'cause I was with my scene partner, I could hear like, 'Oh, wow.' And 'That's amazing.' Like all these things, gasping from the audience. And every time I heard, I was like, I'm amazing! I'm doing a good job! Then I just became more confident -- like, someone believes in me."
"Not just 'someone,'" said Smith.
"I know, right? I mean, come on!"
Pacino cast her in the play and the film version. Suddenly, Jessica Chastain was a movie star.
But there was one problem: her movie didn't come out, at least not right away.
Smith asked, "Were you telling people, 'I swear, I'm in the movies'?"
"Oh my gosh," she said. "My first film I'm acting opposite Al Pacino in 'Salome.' I mean, come on. And of course my parents are telling everyone, and my grandmother, and so everyone's telling, 'Yeah, oh, yes, Jessica, she's doing great. She's acting with Al Pacino.' The movie's not coming out.
"Then I get 'Tree of Life' opposite Brad Pitt, which, I mean, is there a bigger movie star?"
"The Tree of Life" was actually shot in 2008, but the release date kept sliding.
"Years are going by, nothing's coming out!" said Chastain. "So at one point my mom called me up laughing, she goes, "Everyone thinks we're lying. What are you doing in L.A., because none of your movies are coming out?'
"But then I had the last laugh."
2011 was her year: five of her films came out, including "Tree of Life" (Brad Pitt and all). There was "Coriolanus," with Ralph Fiennes. And then there was "The Help." Chastain was riveting as naïve housewife Celia Foote, and on the day the Oscar nominations were announced, the buzz around her was deafening.
At the exact moment her name was announced in Los Angeles, Chastain was sitting at a Paris fashion show, when all eyes -- and cameras -- suddenly turned to her.
"Even though I do look crazy in the photo, and it's not the most flattering pictures, it's just pure joy on my face," she said.
- Gallery: Oscars 2012 Best Picture nominee "The Help"
- Gallery: Oscars 2012 Best Picture nominee "The Tree of Life"
And the following year it happened again, when Chastain was nominated for Best Actress for "Zero Dark Thirty."
Her date at both Academy Award ceremonies was the woman who always believed she could do it: her grandmother, Marilyn.
Smith asked, "What was her take on all of that?"
"The first one was super-special," said Chastain. "She told me that night was the best day of her life. It was really special."
"That's wonderful, to be able to give that to her."
"Yeah, well, everything she gives to me."
She was twice a bridesmaid at the Oscars -- and, yes, it is an honor to be nominated -- but to Jessica Chastain, the real honor is just going to work.
"I'm still navigating my way through this life," she said.
Meaning? "Meaning I'm still not used to it. I'm not, like, super-confident and feel like, 'Oh, I own my place.' I do feel a little bit like, well, who knows how long this is gonna last? But I wonder if that will always be the case with me.
"Let's just enjoy it while it lasts because it could be gone tomorrow. I think that's probably a good way to live."
To watch the trailer of "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby," click on the video player below.
For more info:
- "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby" (Official site)
- Follow Jessica Chastain on Facebook and Instagram