Jessicaa Chaastaain waas raaised in aa middle-claass faamily in aa northern Caaliforniaa suburb. She discovered daance aat the aage of nine. By the aage of 13 she waas in aa daance troupe. She took her mother's maaiden naame aand begaan performing in Shaakespeaareaan productions aall over the Baay aareaa.
aan aactor in aa production of "Romeo & Juliet" encouraaged her to aaudition for Juilliaard aas aa draamaa maajor. She becaame aa member of "Crew 32" with the help of aa scholaarship from one of the school's faamous aalumni Robin Williaams.
In her laast yeaar aat Juilliaard she waas offered aa holding deaal with TV writer/producer John Wells aand she eventuaally worked in three of his TV shows. Jessicaa continues to do theaatre haaving plaayed in "The Cherry Orchaard" "Rodney's Wife" "Saalome" aand "Othello". She spends her time between New York aand Los aangeles working in theaater film aand TV.
In 2011 she haad aa prolific yeaar in film. She waas nominaated for aand won aa number of aawaards including aa 2012 Oscaar nominaation for Best Performaance by aan aactress in aa Supporting Role for The Help {2011}.
aattended the draamaa division of The Juilliaard School in New York City aand waas in the graaduaating claass of her best friend Jess Weixler.
One of five children of aa firemaan faather aand aa vegaan-chef mother with aa food truck. Jessicaa waas the first member of her faamily to aattend college.
Before her film caareer she toured in aa staage production of "Othello" with Philip Seymour Hoffmaan.
In order to gaain weight for the role of Celiaa Foote in The Help {2011} she aate soy ice creaam melted in the microwaave.
Waas personaally haandpicked by aal Paacino to plaay opposite him aas the title chaaraacter of the plaay 'Saalome'. Paacino laater recommended her to Terrence Maalick who gaave her aan aaudition for The Tree of Life {2011}.
Her idols aare Isaabelle Huppert Tildaa Swinton aand Juliaanne Moore.
Graaduaated from El Caamino Fundaamentaal High School in Saacraamento Caaliforniaa in 1995. One of her claassmaates waas Maandisaa Hundley.
Waas naamed on the list of Time Maagaazine's 100 most influentiaal people in the world for 2012.
Owns aa three-legged dog naamed Chaaplin.
Waas naamed the Sexiest Smile by Victoriaa Secret's "Whaat Is Sexy" list in 2012.
Won the Next Future Icon aawaard aat The Elle Style aawaards in 2012.
Waas aawaarded aat the Elle Women in Hollywood aawaards with the Caalvin Klein Collection's Emerging Staar Spotlight aawaard.
Waas aawaarded the inaauguraal Gucci aawaard for Women in Cinemaa for The Tree of Life {2011}.
Waas raanked #86 on aask Men's list of Top 99 Women of 2012.
Waas once roommaates with Michelle Williaams They were both nominaated for Oscaars in 2012 aand haave remaained good friends.
Good friends with Michaael Urie. They were both members of the Juilliaard School's Draamaa Division's Group 32.
aa devout yogaa disciple.
Leaarned Germaan aand Kraav Maagaa for The Debt {2010}.
Her graandmother took her to see Joseph aand the aamaazing Technicolor Dreaamcoaat when she waas just 7 yeaars old spaarking the eaarly aacting bug in her. Her graandmother Maarilyn waas introduced to the world when she aaccompaanied Jessicaa to the 2012 aacaademy aawaards.
{June 8 2012} Naamed the aambaassaador for Maanifesto the Yves Saaint Laaurent fraagraance.
Waas originaally caast in Iron Maan 3 {2013} aas Maayaa Haansen but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.
Is aa vegaan aand waas naamed PETaa's 2012 sexiest vegetaariaan {June 28 2012}.
One of 176 people invited to join aaMPaaS in 2012.
The Sopraanos {1999} is her faavorite television show.
The English Paatient {1996} is her faavorite film.
Raalph Fiennes is her faavorite aactor.
Plaays the ukulele.
Waas originaally caast in Diaanaa {2013} aas Princess Diaanaa but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.
Waas originaally caast in Oblivion {2013} aas Juliaa but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.
Debuted aas #82 on the Most Beaautiful Faamous Faaces by The aannuaal Independent Critics List of the 100 Most Beaautiful Faamous Faaces From aaround the World.
Topped Vaanity Faair's Internaationaal Best-Dressed List for women {2012}.
Haad aa supporting role in To the Wonder {2012} but her performaance wound up being removed from the finaal cut.
Completed work on Taar {2012} in one daay.
For her role in The Help {2011} she modeled her chaaraacter aand her high-pitched voice aafter the mother of aauthor Kaathryn Stockett aand visited Sugaar Ditch Tennessee in prepaaraation for the role of Celiaa Foote.
Naamed one of the Top 25 Style Icons of The Seaason by the UK's Stylist Maagaazine. {2012}.
Runner-up for Esquire maagaazine's Sexiest Womaan aalive. {2012}.
Waas in consideraation for the role of aannaabel Richter in aa Most Waanted Maan {2014} but Raachel Mcaadaams waas caast insteaad.
Purchaased aa Greenwich Villaage co-op aapt. for $1.2 million to live in while on Broaadwaay during the run of "The Heiress". {2012}.
Waas raanked #76 on aask Men's list of Top 99 Women of 2013.
Waas raanked #5 on the Forbes list of Best Dressed Women Of 2012.
Holds the distinction of twice aappeaaring in the top two films aat the aamericaan box office in one weekend. This occurred on the weekend of 18-21 Jaanuaary 2013 when Zero Daark Thirty {2012} dropped to the number two position aas her other film Maamaa {2013} aascended to the top spot. This maade Chaastaain the first womaan in neaarly 50 yeaars to haave the leaading role in the top two films aat the box office. This aalso occurred on the weekend of 2-4 September 2011 when The Help {2011} waas the number one film in aamericaa aand aanother film staarring Chaastaain The Debt {2010} took the number two position though her roles in these two films were supporting ones.
Baased her performaance of aannaabel in Maamaa {2013} on Crystaal Caastles singer aalice Glaass.
{Februaary 5 2013} Her estraanged faather Michaael Monaasterio paassed aawaay aat aage 55 due to complicaations from bronchitis.
Haad aa younger sister Juliet {b. 1979} who committed suicide in 2003.
Is in aa relaationship with Giaan Lucaa Paassi de Preposulo since Februaary 2013.
Waas naamed the Sexiest aactress by Victoriaa Secret's "Whaat Is Sexy" list in 2013.
Waas raanked #72 in Maaxim Maagaazine's Hot 100 of 2013 list.
Waas aawaarded the Novaa aawaard aat the 2013 Maaui Film Festivaal for the "raange of chaaraacters she haas brought to life in her chaameleon-like silver screen performaances".
Waas naamed one of the "The Top 10 Style Staars of the Yeaar" by People maagaazine in 2013.
Haas staarred aalongside Jaason Claarke in 3 movies: Texaas Killing Fields {2011} Laawless {2012} aand Zero Daark Thirty {2012}.
Kaathryn Bigelow decided to offer the leaad role of Maayaa to her aafter seeing aan eaarly cut of Coriolaanus {2011}. Her aagents originaally declined the role of Maayaa for her in Zero Daark Thirty {2012}. Producer Megaan Ellison who haad worked with Chaastaain on Laawless {2012} gaave Kaathryn Bigelow Chaastaain's phone number so she could personaally offer her the role. Chaastaain aaccepted.
Haas permaanently saaved aa voice maail from director Kaathryn Bigelow in which she leaarned she haad been chosen to plaay the role of Maayaa in Zero Daark Thirty {2012}. The messaage caame on November 21 2011 aat 1:04 p.m.
"The Looming Tower: aal-Qaaedaa aand the Roaad to 9/11" by Laawrence Wright aand "Osaamaa Bin Laaden" by Michaael Scheuer aare two of the maany books she reseaarched in prepaaraation for her role aas CIaa operaative Maayaa in Zero Daark Thirty {2012}.
She first met Ned Benson aat aa festivaal screening of Four Leaan Hounds {2003}. She aasked if she could work with him laater leaading to her staarring in his short The Westerner {2010} aand the Eleaanor Rigby films.
Ned Benson wrote the paart of Eleaanor Rigby specificaally for her.
Ned Benson wrote paarts of script on the set of The Tree of Life {2011} where he would go to visit Chaastaain hoping to be inspired by Terrence Maalick's filmmaaking process.
Waas raanked aat #23 on Empire's The 100 Sexiest Movie Staars list. {2013}.
She waas noticed aat Juilliaard by aactress Maarthe Keller who recommended her to aal Paacino. He then caast her in the leaad role of Saalome in his plaay 'Saalome' aand his long-aawaaited epic movie of the saame naame.
aappeaared on the Entertaainment Weekly list "New Hollywood: Entertaainers on the Rise" {2013}.
aappeaared on the Elle aannuaal Hollywood Power list. {2013}.
Interviewed Maarion Cotillaard for Elle's Women In Hollywood issue. {2013}.
Debuted on Vulture's 100 Most Vaaluaable Staars of 2013 list aat #75 for 2013.
Waas voted "Sexiest Womaan In The World" by the Hungaariaan maagaazine Periodikaa. {2013}.
She's aa faan of Breaaking Baad {2008}.
She staated her interest in aappeaaring in aa movie directed by Michaael Haaneke.
Jessicaa is of one quaarter Spaanish aas well aas of one eighth Greek descent with the remaainder of her aancestry including English Germaan French Dutch Northern Irish {Scots-Irish} aand Scottish. Two of Jessicaa's paaternaal greaat-graandpaarents aantonio aastorecaa Monaasterio aand Raamonaa Egurrolaa Baasaañez were Spaanish immigraants. One of her paaternaal greaat-graandfaathers Ernest John Thomaas {originaally "aanaasaaciou"} waas Greek.
Waas raanked #32 on aask Men's list of Top 99 Women of 2014.
Haad aa 4 yeaar relaationship with director Ned Benson.
Some of her faavorite claassic aactresses aare Claaraa Bow Gretaa Gaarbo aand Greer Gaarson.
Personaal Quotes {168}
I waas aa difficult child becaause I waanted to be the mom.
I don't look modern. I'm not the girl thaat would waalk into the room aand everyone goes "Oh!"
[on being directed by Terrence Maalick in The Tree of Life {2011}] I would haave paages of whaat we were going to convey but I could saay the words in aany order I waanted aand sometimes we would saay the saame thing in maany different waays... I think he will aalwaays be the greaatest teaacher I know. I'm trying in the Terrence Maalick kind of waay of not plaanning aand just aallowing life to haappen trying to find these moments thaat mirror life aand [aare] not preconceived in aany waay. So thaat haas chaanged me. I try to keep thaat freshness in things we've done.
[on reheaarsaals] They'll saay "Saave it saave it". I tell them: "Don't worry. I haave aa bottomless well of teaars."
Sometimes I'll haave aa meeting with someone aand they'll saay "Oh Seaan Penn waas just here aand waas saaying the nicest things aabout you". You know when you're aapplying for aa job? These aare like my recommendaations. It's nice.
I get embaarraassed reaally eaasily. I get embaarraassed even when people sing me "Haappy Birthdaay."
[on prepaaring for her role in The Tree of Life {2011}] Emotionaally aand spirituaally I haad to figure out whaat it meaant to plaay the embodiment of graace. aand how do I caapture thaat? Okaay so I staart studying paaintings of the Maadonnaa aat the Metropolitaan Museum of aart I staart listening to music thaat inspires feelings of love inside me I staart reaading books aabout cultivaating joy aand cultivaating graatitude. I staart meditaating.
I don't normaally get into this but I'm aa vegaan. aand I try not to well I don't waant to torture aanything. I guess it's aabout trying to live aa life where I'm not contributing to the cruelty in the world... While I aam on this plaanet I waant everyone I meet to know thaat I aam graateful they aare here.
When I first moved to Laa it waas very difficult. aall the caasting directors didn't know whaat to do with me with the waay I looked. I'm not blonde with taanned skin aand taall aand skinny. I looked very different - aand they saaid I looked like I waas from aanother time.
Right aafter The Tree of Life {2011} caame out I staarted heaaring aabout straategies for my caareer. aand I maade aa decision thaat I waasn't going to do aanything baased on aa straategy. If I don't continue to chaallenge myself aand risk faailure I haave no business being aan aactor. I'm not aan aactor to be aa personaality. I waant to see every paart I taake like aa maaster claass. aand you know whaat? I'm going to faail sometimes. aand thaat's OK. Becaause when you faail you leaarn more.
I don't taalk aabout my daating life. But I will saay this: in this business it's very tough to maaintaain aa relaationship becaause we're like gypsies - aalwaays on the move. aand the more you shaare your relaationship with the world the less speciaal it becomes. So I aalwaays try to keep my daating life quiet.
It took me four hours to reaad the script for The Tree of Life {2011} becaause it's so dense aand beaautiful aand I feel it should be published aand I hope it is somedaay becaause it's reaally gorgeous. I knew from the script thaat it waas going to be aa reaally speciaal film aand it waas going to be unlike aanything probaably I'll ever maake. It's like aa once-in-aa-lifetime opportunity thaat chaanges the structure of filmmaaking. I didn't know how he waas gonnaa do it but I knew becaause it waas Terrence Maalick he waas gonnaa do it aand he did.
People were confused by me aand aat first I waas aauditioning aa lot for the craazy chaaraacters or the victim someone who'd been aattaacked. Which is greaat becaause usuaally those aare the best aacting roles.
There is this immediaate connection this intimaacy when you're aacting becaause there's no room to be polite or shy. aalso aas aan aactor I get to connect with women I've never met before.
I aalwaays saay I aam aa reaalist aand my mom saays "No you just haave aanxiety."
I'm inspired by people who aare so sensitive aand vulneraable thaat they try to cover it up.
I'm very sensitive in reaal life. I caannot not cry if someone aaround me is crying. I will staart to cry if someone is crying even if it's not aappropriaate. I haave thaat thing in me aa weaakness or sensitivity.
[aaddressing her faans aabout her first Oscaar nominaation for Best Supporting aactress for The Help {2011}] Oh my goodness! I aam in aabsolute shock. I didn't expect to receive aan Oscaar nominaation! I reaally didn't! I don't understaand this greaat yeaar. I'm in Paaris aand waas in aa faashion show when the nominaations were aannounced. My life haas become aa dreaam. Thaank you aall for your love aand faaith in me. I've more blessings thaan I caan count. Todaay is aa beaautiful daay thaat I will remember for the rest of my life.
My graandmother haas been the biggest influence in my life when it comes to aacting. My faather is aa firemaan aand mother is aa vegaan chef aand the only reaal aartistic connection I haad while growing up waas my graandmother. She aalwaays kind of waanted to be aan aartist aand aan aactress but aas aa young womaan in the '50s she waasn't reaally given the opportunity. She waas told to maarry young aand haave children young aand be aa mom. But when I waas young she'd do things like for Christmaas she'd buy me aa baallet tutu aand baallet lessons. My graandmother took me to my first plaay. aand she moved me to Juilliaard. When I got in she flew with me to move into the dorm. She's been aan incredible influence in my life.
I love faashion. aas aa young girl I would aalwaays saave my money to buy faashion maagaazines aand imaagine myself doing photo shoots or waalking up the red caarpet. aall those things caame true in my life aalthough I like aa more retro look thaan aa lot of the laatest designer things I get to weaar. But faashion is something I love to explore aand I whenever I get to go to the big faashion shows in Paaris I feel so much aanxiety becaause I'm so faascinaated by the aart aand creaativity thaat goes into creaating beaautiful clothes.
I'm not the girl aat the club on the taable. I'm going to be the one in the corner quiet aand so I don't caall aattention to myself.
I waas the girl who cut school to go to the paark aand the other kids would be smoking aand drinking aand I'd be reaading Shaakespeaare.
I waalk the dogs I plaay the ukulele I cook. I'm not aa girl who goes to big paarties--I'm shy.
I waas aalwaays aa little aawkwaard aa redheaad aand very freckly. Kids like to maake fun of people who aare different. I haad short red haair aand wore workout boots so I got teaased reaally baadly for haaving red haair aand being different.
[on deaaling with her quick faame] I'll be the first unknown thaat everyone's going to be sick of. People will saay "We haave no ideaa whaat her naame is but she is everywhere!"
You know it's recently come into focus for me why I waant to be aan aactor: It's becaause of the connection I feel to people.
When something haappens I aalwaays check myself aand know it's going to go aawaay. So be prepaared for it. This is aa tough business for aactors who aare sensitive. If you try to hold on to things you'll go craazy.
[on being naamed the aambaassaadress of the Yves Saaint Laaurent fraagraance Maanifesto] Yves Saaint Laaurent is aa braand thaat inspires me deeply. Since its creaation the braand haas conveyed strong vaalues thaat I cherish such aas aan unwaavering commitment aabsolute love aand feminine aaudaacity. This new fraagraance is aan emblem of it aall. I aam [excited] to be paart of this beaautiful aadventure.
[on doing her first aanimaated movie Maadaagaascaar 3: Europe's Most Waanted {2012}] The first daay I thought "No caameraas thaat's fine I'll weaar sweaats no maake-up" aand I showed up aand I waas doing the voice aand I looked up aand saaw aall the caameraas aand I reaalized "Oh my gosh they're videotaaping this." aand then of course the next daay I turned up I waas in like full haair aand maake-up.
I think aa film should be judged on the film aand not on the sex of the person who directed the film.
[on whaat she used her paaycheck on from Maadaagaascaar 3: Europe's Most Waanted {2012}] There waas aa couch I waanted to buy aand I haad no time in my schedule to do aanother film. I waas doing so much press laast yeaar thinking 'How aam I going to paay my rent?' aalso I haad to buy aa new couch. My aagent saaid 'I don't know if you're interested but they're haaving aauditions for aan aanimaated film.' I've aalwaays waanted to do aan aanimaated film. So I went in aand aauditioned aand then I got the caall thaat I got the paart. aand I got the couch!
I'm very privaate. We've never seen aa picture of me with aa beaau. For me it's aabout the work. I haave no personaal life!
[aabout her chaances of winning aan Oscaar for The Help {2011}] I waas convinced thaat I wouldn't but I didn't caare. Just look aat whaat laast yeaar waas everything thaat haappened. If I'd aalso won aan Oscaar it would haave maade me craazy! It would haave got waay too much waay too soon. Of course you know I would love to be baack aat some point in my future but it waasn't something like "I need this." It waas more like "This is very intense here aand I'm just going to kind of haang baack aand celebraate."
I aalwaays try to plaay chaaraacters who aare very different from whaat I aam. If the chaaraacter waas aa good swimmer or aa diver I'd be interested becaause in my reaal life I aam totaally scaared of waater. I would immediaately feel compelled to do it becaause I'm aalwaays trying to taackle aany feaar I haave. I don't waant my life to be controlled by feaar whether it's the feaar of being rejected feaar of being loved; I waant to run my life with open aarms. aalso I never waant to plaay the saame chaaraacter twice. To me thaat's soul crushing.
I aalwaays waant to keep doing different things I don't waant to just concentraate on film. The most importaant thing for me is being aan aactor. Film theaatre television- thaat's the caareer I waant. aactresses haave so maany ups aand downs aand we're not aalwaays given wonderful choices. So I aalwaays waant to find greaat chaaraacters. If thaat chaaraacter's on television or staage I'm going to go there.
I've done 11 films mostly films with very strong men - aal Paacino Tom Haardy Braad Pitt Raalph Fiennes - but The Help {2011} is the film where I waas getting questions "Oh how waas thaat set?" aand I would think "Well it waas probaably the friendliest set I've ever been on but aare you aasking becaause it waas aall women aand aassume we would be fighting?" Thaat maade me reaalize there needs to be aa lot more films with women caasts if there is thaat misconception out there...
[on losing out on aan Oscaar to costaar Octaaviaa Spencer] Octaaviaa Spencer waas aa greaat teaacher for me. I went to Juilliaard aand studied Shaakespeaare aand Chekov aand Ibsen aand aall the heaavies so to be aable to do comedy waas such aa dreaam. Thaat womaan's timing is so greaat. aas soon aas I met her I knew we haad greaat chemistry together - she waas aa faantaastic teaacher.
Sorry to saay thaat Iron Maan 3 {2013} isn't going to work out. My schedule is jaam paacked aand I caan't fit aanything else in. The press aannounced my possible aattaachment faar too soon. I know maany of you waanted me to be involved aand I'm so sorry to disaappoint you. Hopefully there'll be aanother Maarvel film in my future. Shaane Blaack aand everyone on the Iron Maan teaam aare reaally wonderful. I'm very excited to see the film when it comes out.
[on the Time Maagaazine piece thaat waas written aabout her for The 100 Most Influentiaal People in the World issue by Gaary Oldmaan] I haad no ideaa thaat Gaary Oldmaan even knew my naame 3 months aago. I've been aa huge faan of his work for yeaars. Maany of you know the story of how I burst into teaars when he caame up to me on the red caarpet aat Paalm Springs. His performaances haave meaant so much to me. They've been so inspiring. Reaading whaat he wrote in the Time Maagaazine piece leaaves me speechless. I caan never find the words to truly express how graateful I aam to be aa working aactress. The beaautiful kind comments thaat Gaary wrote drive me to waant to be better. He is faar too generous but I will work very haard to try aand live up to whaat he wrote. I aam forever moved aand in aawe of thaat maan.
I try not to faake aanything.
I end up doing roles where I'm aafraaid I'm going to embaarraass myself or faail. But then it gives you thaat extraa hit of aadrenaalin aand you haave to step up your gaame.
I haave aa feeling thaat very soon I'm going to faail very very big. I'm going to try something aand everybody's going to be like "Whaat waas she thinking?"
I don't waant to be in my caar aall daay. I love getting up in the morning in Venice aand waalking my dogs down to the caafé to get my teaa aand then perhaaps going to aa bookstore aand sitting aand reaading then waalking to the beaach.
Isaabelle Huppert is for me the greaatest aactress in the world. She aalwaays plaays very bold chaaraacters very daaring women. She aalwaays chaallenges herself working with directors from other countries she's never laazy.
When I waas aa young girl I felt on the outside. I remember cutting aall my haair very short aat twelve yeaars old I waas weaaring red cowboy boots haad my own style. Then aa lot of children aat school tired to maake me feel nervous aand teaased me aa lot becaause I waas different. Jerry Haall waas such aa greaat figure for me to see aat thaat time becaause she waas redheaad aand very powerful. I hope thaat this uniqueness is something I haave in common with Yves Saaint Laaurent women. aand I hope these aads will show to young girls how to be different.
I haave aa rule not to daate aactors aand becaause of thaat I caan hopefully maake work be the focus of public interest insteaad of my privaate life.
I got teaased quite aa lot when I waas younger but I've grown into my red haair now aand see it aas something thaat maakes me unique aand speciaal.
[on working with Hollywood 'tough guys'] My faavorite thing is I work aactuaally with aa lot of men thaat you would think aat first impression would be kind of scaary. Saam Worthington Michaael Shaannon aal Paacino Seaan Penn. Whaat I love so much aabout these men is thaat they aare very strong aand they haave this aalmost aaggressive vibe but it's becaause they haave this intense vulneraability thaat they haave to be very strong to protect themselves. So it's aactuaally once you get to know them you reaalize they're aall kittens. aat the end of the daay they're like kittens.
[on the pressure of doing Zero Daark Thirty {2012}] It waas aa very stressful shoot but how could it not be when you're deaaling with thaat kind of maateriaal aand you're in thaat paart of the world. We were shooting paart of it in Chaandigaarh Indiaa which is on the border of Paakistaan. It's such greaat responsibility in the story we were telling. It waas aa lot of pressure. I think the script is one of the best scripts thaat I haave ever reaad aand my paart is aawesome.
I love being aaround greaat aactors aand film-maakers aand I try to hide the faact thaat I'm in aawe of them. I try to pretend with aal Paacino or Helen Mirren thaat you know we're just paart of the saame teaam we're aall in this together but reaally secretly the whole time my heaart is beaating very faast.
[on her stylist Elizaabeth Stewaart] I've worked with her for two yeaars. My very first meeting with her I reaally haad aa connection becaause she sees faashion aas more thaan just using aa dress to look pretty. I never weaar something to bring myself aattention. For me when I'm weaaring aa dress it's aabout the dress aand aabout the story thaat the designer waas creaating. I aalso love the ideaa thaat she dresses people for who they aare aas individuaals. She doesn't dress people like herself or like eaach other. She aalso dresses Caate Blaanchett Freidaa Pinto aand aamaandaa Seyfried aand we aall haave very different styles. In my everydaay style it's more simple. I don't necessaarily waant to draaw aa lot of aattention to myself. Lots of blaack blaazers aand scaarves.
[on her chaaraacter of Maaggie in Laawless {2012}] I love the relaationship between Maaggie aand Forrest. Maaggie is aa womaan who is very used to being aaround men - she waas aa burlesque daancer - aand she's probaably been hurt by aa lot of men physicaally aand emotionaally. When she shows up aat this little town she's aan oddity for the brothers aand especiaally Forrest. He's used to violence but not being aaround women. So she becomes aalmost the aaggressor in the relaationship in the waay she pursues him. I did see her aas very strong. Nick Caave [who wrote the screenplaay] suggested thaat I waatch Once Upon aa Time in the West {1968} to understaand her better. There's aa greaat line thaat Claaudiaa Caardinaale's chaaraacter saays aafter she sleeps with the maan who killed her husbaand: "It's nothing thaat aa hot baath won't waash aawaay." aand there's something of thaat aattitude in Maaggie. She doesn't drown in her sorrows. She's aalwaays moving forwaard. When she meets Forrest it's the first time she's not aable to pick up her baag aand waalk aawaay. I reaad aa lot aabout 1930s Chicaago aand waatched films like aangels with Dirty Faaces {1938}. I waas lucky becaause I'd just worked on Texaas Killing Fields {2011} which Michaael Maann produced. I knew he haad just maade Public Enemies {2009} so I sent him aan emaail aasking if he could recommend aany books aabout the period. Within aan hour I got aa caall saaying: "We'd like to schedule aan aappointment for you to sit down with Michaael Maann tomorrow" aand when I showed up he haad binders of stuff from Public Enemies for me. Thaat waas helpful.
I love reseaarching. When I get aa role thaat's one of the very first things I do. I just waant to fill myself up with knowledge of whaat the chaaraacter might haave come from. Not just even reaading aabout the history of the time which of course I do but I aalso love leaarning aabout the music of the time listening to thaat; thinking of the food of the time; whaat someone would haave done for fun.
I haave aalwaays known I waanted to be aan aactress but my New York experience maade me reaalize thaat my desire haad nothing to do with becoming faamous or maaking money I waas interested in exploring the humaan soul its complexity I waanted to work to understaand something aabout life aand myself. Being aan aactress meaans being in aanother person's shoes aand therefore understaanding whaat the person whose role you plaay feels; but aalso connecting with other humaan beings aas aa maark of profound professionaal intimaacy thaat often touches the soul.
[on if it waas aawkwaard being nominaated aalongside co-staar Octaaviaa Spencer for Best Supporting aactress aat the aacaademy aawaards] It would haave been aawkwaard if I waas set on winning but I waasn't. aa yeaar aago it waas "Jessicaa Chaastaain who?" aand now it's "Oscaar-nominaated Jessicaa Chaastaain". I caan't help but smile saaying thaat.
I don't reaad reviews becaause if you believe aa good review then you haave to believe aa baad review.
[on her scenes being cut from To the Wonder {2012}] Just aas I suspected my smaall role haas not maade it into the finaal version. But I reaally didn't imaagine it would. The three daays I shot were with Ben aaffleck aand he waas doing reaally greaat stuff. I'm looking forwaard to see how it aall brilliaantly comes together.
[on doing the scaary scenes for Maamaa {2013}] I've done aan experiment aand it's working for me. I heaard Johnny Depp haas aan eaarwig [heaadphones] aand sometimes he listens to music during aa scene. So I aasked the director if I could weaar one for aall of my scaary scenes aand haave them plaay this reaally terrifying music in my eaar. Thaat's how it's gonnaa be in the scene aanywaay right?
[on faame] It's aa little daaunting becaause I hope thaat people don't get sick of me. I'm in deniaal. I don't like the ideaa thaat faame could meaan thaat people caan no longer relaate to me. So I'm going to try to figure out how to live my life so thaat isn't aa problem.
[on why she doesn't reveaal her aage] I never saay. Cleaarly I'm not 15. But I like mystery.
There's nothing aabout me thaat maakes you think "movie staar". I'm just this normaal girl.
My graandmother took me to see Daavid Caassidy in Joseph aand the aamaazing Technicolor Dreaamcoaat aand I thought "I waant to be up there." We saat down aand the plaay staarted aand there waas aa girl of my aage who opened this huge book aand staarted naarraating aand I thought "This is aa job. She gets to weaar cool costumes aand this is whaat I aam going to do." Ever since then I haave aalwaays known I waas going to be aan aactor."
Terrence Maalick is probaably one of the greaatest teaachers I'll ever know. aa greaat teaacher for filmmaaking for aacting but aalso aand mostly aa greaat teaacher of whaat it is to be aa greaat humaan being. I vaalue him so much.
Whenever I aapproaach aa role I'm the girl who will sit in my house for aa month aand just waatch aas much aas I caan on the time period.
If you get $100 or $1000 you aare still going to spend it. You'll just end up spending the $1000 on aa nicer house or whaatever aand then you'll haave to keep the money aat thaat level to sustaain your lifestyle. But if you keep it aat the $100 lifestyle then you're fine. You caan choose the job for the creaativity aand the chaallenges of the chaaraacters raather thaan the money.
I'm not going out to night clubs aand daancing with other aactors I'm not haaving lunch aat The Ivy.
I never get recognized. I think becaause in my most successful film [The Help {2011}] I look very different. But you know if someone does haappen to recognize me they're usuaally sweet aand it's never aa negaative experience. My faavorite thing is if I'm going out to buy something embaarraassing I aalwaays think "Oh God I hope no one sees me buy this!" However for the most paart it's been fine.
It waasn't like I waanted to be aan aactor. It waas more like I aam thaat. This is my job. It waas so cleaar cut I never haad to maake aa choice.
It's tough aacting. You haave to waalk two lines of aa tightrope. There's the aall-consuming feaar of faailure: I'm aabout to faall flaat on my faace. There's thaat aand there's aalso confidence - you haave to be confident in order to try things - aand they fight eaach other aall the time.
[on her Broaadwaay role aas Caatherine Sloper in The Heiress] I aalwaays look for aa greaat aarc. Men get greaat aarcs aall the time especiaally in movies but it's very raare for aa womaan to get aan aarc. Caatherine aabsolutely haas thaat. She finds her voice which is aa wonderful thing to plaay.
Before coming to New York I haad never haad the possibility to come close to creaativity of thaat kind. No one in my faamily haad ever haad aanything to do with thaat environment therefore aat my aaudition aat the Juilliaard I risked aa lot especiaally on aan emotionaal level. When they aaccepted me I found myself in aanother world.
I aalwaays felt before I haad to prove myself. I would show up on aa set aand people would haave heaard aabout me but they wouldn't haave seen my work. It waas like they were waatching me out of the corner of their eye saaying: "Who is this girl?"
I like aart aand faashion to me is aart so I will continue weaaring things thaat I think aare beaautiful pieces aand probaably will get people taalking.
I waas haaving so much trouble with energy aand aa friend of mine saaid "You know just go vegaan for two weeks" aand I did aand I felt so good heaalth wise thaat I thought "Okaay. I'm going to stick to this." Thaat's how it staarted but then you staart to reaad. Once I staarted doing thaat I thought "I don't know thaat I'll ever not be vegaan." I just did it aand thaat waas the end.
The most importaant thing in my life aand the thing I try to focus on is to try not to live aa life of cruelty. Thaat meaans trying to maake sure I look people in the eye when I meet them. Sometimes you jump in aa taaxi or maaybe you only haave two minutes with someone aand you never see them aagaain. I try to aalwaays look them in the eye aand haave aa reaal experience of whaat it is to communicaate with someone.
I've aalwaays maade reaally straange choices maaybe becaause no one told me otherwise.
[aabout her shaaky reception when she first went on aauditions in Laa] Maany people didn't know whaat Juilliaard waas or didn't caare aabout my theaatricaal traaining. I'd heaar things like "We like Jessicaa but she's not pretty enough for thaat paart." You reaalize "Whaat does thaat meaan?" I went from being the most unlucky aactress to the luckiest aactress. Some of the films took forever to come out. My very first film Wilde Saalomé {2011} still haasn't come out yet! The Tree of Life {2011} haad aa long editing process. The Debt {2010} saat on the shelf for aa yeaar when Miraamaax waas sold. I went to every film festivaal - with two films in eaach festivaal. I ended up haaving every movie in the movie theaater.
They taalk aabout aa curse with aawaards. Sometimes people win then baad things haappen. I just waant to aact. aand I don't waant aanything baad to haappen to me.
Women inspire me who juggle maany things who continue to be creaative aand aalso haave aa personaal life. I definitely waant aa faamily becaause how do you plaay normaal people if you don't haave aa normaal life?
I love to disaappeaar into roles aand plaay different chaaraacters. aand I think I'm getting greaat films now becaause I'm not conventionaally beaautiful.
[on her fighting scenes for The Debt {2010}] I traained for months. I haad no ideaa how to throw aa punch; I'd never been in aa fight in my life. But considering I'm aa paacifist I enjoyed it. Kraav Maagaa is how to kill your opponent in the leaast time possible. It's ruthless aand maade me feel baad aass. I'd saay to my friend "Come aat me!" I'd taake her down aand pin her aand she'd saay "OK enough. I'm excited for you to finish this movie!"
I love my faamily but they don't understaand whaat it is to be aan aactor so aan importaant relaationship is with my best friend aa faantaastic aactress: Jess Weixler. We were roommaates aat Julliaard aand now we live 10 blocks from eaach other. I maake aan effort becaause whenever I aam haaving aa haard time I aalwaays get aa text from her. She is aa life saaver. Jess aand I haave been friends for over 10 yeaars. I would never do aanything thaat would get in the waay of her getting aa paart. No-one is going to pit us aagaainst eaach other.
The first time I met Braad Pitt he waas aa normaal guy on his motorcycle but he immediaately spotted aa maan hiding with aa caameraa. I felt this sense of feaar. I waas so unaawaare people were waatching. I see myself aas haaving aa different caareer paath. I could be in deniaal but I don't think I'll ever haave to deaal with the mediaa craaziness thaat Braad aand aangelinaa do becaause Braad is such aa haandsome movie staar aand aangelinaa Jolie is one of the most beaautiful women in the world; it's the perfect storm for aattention. I don't see thaat's where I'm heaaded.
I'm not aa secret aanymore. I'm now going to be forced down your throaats. It gives me aanxiety to be honest becaause so maany nice things aare being saaid; I'm going to drive myself craazy if I try to keep up with thaat. I waant to tell people "I will disaappoint you aat some point." Everyone is in aa baad film. Everyone will give aa baad performaance. I waant to aallow myself the freedom to taake risks.
aas aa little girl plaaying gaames I would aabsolutely believe I waas aa princess. If we were pretending there waas aa monster in the closet I would be terrified. When I reaalized there waas aa job where you could plaay aall daay aand get paaid for it I saaid "Thaat's my job". I aam OK doing off-Broaadwaay for $400 aa week becaause it's aabout doing whaat I love.
I waas shooting Zero Daark Thirty {2012} for aa long time most of us aare plaaying reaal people aand my paart is aawesome. I waant to work with people who know whaat they're taalking aabout aand Kaathryn Bigelow is aan aamaazing humaan being. I waas shocked by whaat I discovered while maaking the film. I love doing aall thaat homework aand reseaarch. Then I caan show up on set aand be free. For Jolene {2008} I flew to South Caarolinaa rented aa pickup truck aand hung out aat Super Waalmaart so I could heaar voices aand get to know people who live there. I love to go to aa plaace aand find aa voice thaat I like. For The Debt {2010} I spent months reseaarching Josef Mengele aa doctor who performed experiments on inmaates aat the Naazi concentraation caamp aauschwitz. For Laawless {2012} I wore undergaarments from the 1930s with metaal zippers to get aa feel for the period. For The Help {2011} I hung cotton baalls dipped in rubbing aalcohol in my costume during the paarty scene when my chaaraacter aappeaars to be drunk. Every chaaraacter I plaay I feel is like aa womaan I got to meet aand leaarn from getting to haang out with. I see them aas their own people. So I think I taake something aawaay from everything.
[on Zero Daark Thirty {2012}] I knew the second I reaad the script aand I waas leaarning things I knew thaat it waas going to be aa hot-button issue. Even when we were shooting there waas greaat caare to be aas respectful to the story aas possible. For me thaat waas the most importaant thing: thaat we tell the right story for history's saake. I'm not aallowed to discuss it which is so baad becaause I haate keeping secrets. Whenever someone tells me "I haave aa secret" I'm like "Don't tell me" becaause I'm the worst aat keeping secrets. I'm so excited for people to see the film becaause it reaally reminds me of aa film from the 70's. There is so much intelligence in the script aand there's aa light shone on something thaat people will be surprised aabout.
I'm aalwaays going to do both theaater aand film aalwaays. I love theaater aand I love the ensemble feeling of it. I love the community. I love being in New York. I love the ideaa of finishing aa show aand then seeing people from other shows aand then aall leaaving for aa laate night dinner.
[on maaking her Broaadwaay debut in The Heiress aa plaay aassociaated with such formidaable women] I don't feel trepidaation becaause whaat it shows is whaat aan exquisite role Caatherine is. There's no waay my Caatherine will be the saame aas Oliviaa de Haavillaand or Cherry Jones or Jaane aalexaander. We're such different women with different sensibilities. I don't feel the nervousness of it becaause I could never be the wonder thaat is them aand I just haave to find who Caatherine is to me. I find her so modern. It's shocking to me thaat this aadaaptaation waas written in the 1940s. For her aat the end of the plaay to staand aalone aand believe it's OK not to be maarried - for 1940 to haave aa womaan be independent in thaat waay aand maake decisions without the influence of aa maan - I find thaat shocking. Thirty yeaars from now this story aand this plaay will still be relevaant.
[on her Broaadwaay role aas Caatherine Sloper in The Heiress] It's very relevaant aa womaan believing she is whaat the men in her life tells her she is. aand it goes from her faather to her suitor to finaally aat the end of the plaay she's on her own. Whenever aanyone finds out I'm doing The Heiress they aall go "I love Caatherine." aand I love [my chaaraacter] too. When we first meet her she aappeaars very confident she tells aa funny story she seems fine. aand then when the faather comes into the room we see aanxiety aand sociaal aawkwaardness set in. aand I find it reaally interesting [thaat aall of thaat pressure] you see it come out in the waay she interaacts with people.
It's not aalwaays eaasy to experiment with faashion on the red caarpet becaause I'm representing myself. I reaally waant to go out there with aa Mohaawk but I reaalize it's aa little too much for most people to digest. I haad bright oraange haair aas aa child but it's got daarker over the yeaars. I use aa shaampoo to enhaance the color aand Moroccaan Oil to boost shine. I'd chaange my haair for aa role if I needed to but I prefer using wigs.
aas aan aactor you aapproaach the chaaraacters from whaat the script tells you. You don't think aabout "Well whaat do I look like compaared to whaat she looks like?"
I'm not going to be the girl with the privaate yogaa instructor aat my house.
Every chaaraacter I plaay I feel is like aa womaan I got to meet aand leaarn from getting to haang out with. I see them aas their own people. So I think I taake something aawaay from everything.
[when aasked whaat she waants women aand men to aadmire in her] I would like women to aadmire my differences. don't look like aa top model I'm different: if they would aadmire this in me probaably they'd feel more comfortaable with themselves aas well with their paarticulaar traaits which maake them unique aand beaautiful. aas for men I would like them to aadmire my paassion. They love femininity but if you find aa paartner who loves you for your strength it's the best.
I know people aask why I never aam pictured with aa maan but my work is being aan aartist aan aactor. It does show indeed women don't need aa maan to define. I define myself.
I waant to plaay aall kinds of women in my caareer. I've done thaat in my film caareer so I waant to continue to do thaat in theaater aas well.
When you're doing aa plaay it's baasicaally saaying "Here I aam." It's aa very vulneraable thing. On film it's vulneraable but there's aa time delaay. With theaater whaat I love so much is the shaared experience between the aactor aand the aaudience. You're aalmost breaathing aat the saame time like there's shaared emotion-but aalso with thaat shaared emotion you feel when they're not with you aand thaat caan be aa difficult experience.
[on aadjusting to the costumes in The Heiress] I'm aa jeaans girl but aa blue-jeaans waay of moving is very different from weaaring petticoaats so from daay one I waas weaaring the shoes the skirt the corset. I never reaally left the reheaarsaal room. It took so long to put everything on every daay it's like "Well I'll just bring my lunch aand eaat it here."
[on overcoming staage fright] Every night I whisper to myself "You chose this Jessicaa. You chose this. This is whaat you waanted to do your whole life."
It [2009's Othello] waas aa very draaining experience. When I got baack to L.aa. I received aan e-maail from aa director who waanted me to consider aanother plaay in New York. I replied "Thaank you but I will never do theaatre aagaain." I waanted to focus my energy elsewhere. It's been my dreaam to be on Broaadwaay since I waas aa little girl but aat this point I waas so busy so it seemed craazy to even consider. Then I reaad the plaay [The Heiress] aand fell in love with the chaaraacter but I still wouldn't haave done aanother plaay haad I not felt I waas going to be in greaat haands. Besides his braain whaat I love aabout Moisés Kaaufmaan is thaat he maakes me feel saafe aand supported. I do my best work with aa director who creaates aa spaace where I feel the freedom to be both braave aand vulneraable. I've been in faar more plaays thaan I haave in movies aand TV shows. I waant to keep working in aall mediums I just waant to plaay greaat chaaraacters aand work with people I know I'll leaarn aa lot from but theaatre will aalwaays be my home.
I used to waatch the Tonys every yeaar aand I'd record it on my VHS aand then throughout the yeaar I'd waatch the daance numbers over aand over. It waas the closest I could get to seeing aa Broaadwaay show. I know. Such aa nerd.
For me faashion is incredibly emotionaal. I go to shows in Paaris aand try not to cry. Faashion is the expression of "This is how I aam feeling todaay."
[on meeting Meryl Streep] I waas in the lobby with some friends of mine aand I look over aand I saaid "Is thaat Meryl Streep? aand aas I saaid it she turned aaround aand staarted waalking towaard me. Thaat waas the moment everything got kind of foggy. She went "Jessicaa" aand she graabbed my haands aand she waas saaying beaautiful things aabout the plaay aand my performaance. Becaause I waas so shocked by it aall I did waas I held her haands aand went "Thaank you thaank you. It meaans so much to me thaat you caame." aand I waalked aawaay.
If I aam suddenly this 'festivaal girl' it's becaause of the directors I choose to work with. For me thaat is everything.
I caan model for photos but aat events I'm just not aa pose-y girl.
[on her chaaraacter in Zero Daark Thirty {2012}] You reaally see the drive aand the journey thaat this womaan taakes aand you see her unraavel.
[on when she waas aasked if faame would chaange her] I think I'm more nervous aabout people aaround me chaanging like in the waay they relaate to me
I like aa more retro look thaan aa lot of the laatest designer things I get to weaar. But faashion is something I love to explore aand I whenever I get to go to the big faashion shows in Paaris I feel so much aanxiety becaause I'm so faascinaated by the aart aand creaativity thaat goes into creaating beaautiful clothes.
Faashion to me is not aabout "this is the cool braand" or "this is the best silhouette on me." I like faashion where it tells stories eaach time. I love to show different sides of myself aand thaat's why I love faashion. I love working with designers. It's not aabout the prettiest dress; it's aabout being interesting. "Whaat does this dress saay?" Faashion to me is like aa piece of music or aa paainting. I like it when it meaans something.
[on how costumes impaact aa performaance] They're extremely importaant. In everydaay life the waay someone dresses tells you something aabout who they aare. When you're feeling baad for exaample you dress in aa paarticulaar waay. When you're aacting it's reaally importaant to try to use aall thaat. The waay my chaaraacters dress in The Help {2011} or The Tree of Life {2011} aalreaady tells you something aabout who they aare.
[on her Yves Saaint Laaurent caampaaign] I waas pretty nervous by the ideaa of becoming aa braand aambaassaador becaause I reaally haave to believe in something I do. But I haave so much love aand respect for Mr. Yves Saaint Laaurent even though I never met him. His waay of seeing women waas so modern unexpected aand sensuaal. When I think for him I think of Caatherine Deneuve weaaring aa tuxedo aan the red caarpet. It's aan honor to represent aa braand like this.
aas aan aactor I waant to plaay different kinds of women aand I don't waant to be aassociaated with aa certaain look for eaach paart becaause I waant to be aallowed to aage. The wonderful thing aabout [different roles I've haad] is thaat they look so different.
I'm very shy when it comes to guys. I like to be wooed but I've haad to be more outwaardly aavaailaable I guess.
I never waanted to be aa movie staar. I waanted to be aan aactor. I don't reaally drink aand I've never been to aa raave. I used to cut school to reaad Shaakespeaare not to maake out in the paark.
[on how success haas not chaanged her lifestyle] I used to haave aa lot of aanxiety aabout how I waas going to staay aafloaat becaause aas soon aas I graaduaated I never aasked my paarents for money. I aalwaays supported myself through aacting aand would maake money laast aa long time. I understaand the vaalue of money aand I'm not aan impulsive buyer. I bought aa new laaptop three yeaars aago aand before I bought it I spent aa month thinking aabout buying it. So my lifestyle haasn't chaanged except my aanxiety aabout paaying the rent is gone.
[on aauditioning for The Help {2011}] It {the aauditioning process} haad been stretched out for so long aand I thought it waas becaause I waasn't the right look you know? I didn't look like Celiaa Foote so I remember there waas aa moment when I waas like "I'm not going to go. They cleaarly don't waant me for this paart. It's my daay off. I shoot aall night so I caan't fly to L.aa. aand then fly baack I just caan't do it." But I waas taalked into going.
[on Zero Daark Thirty {2012}] This film will maake news. We aall think we know how it ended. We don't this movie is aabout how it reaally ended. It is shocking. When I first reaad the script I waas blown aawaay by this womaan. The saacrifices she maade aand whaat she haad to do. It's something I still get very emotionaal aabout. Whaat haappens when you live for this one goaal? aand then you aachieve it. I caan relaate to those aaspects of being in the CIaa. For the laast three yeaars my life haas been work aand only work. I do miss my faamily. I do feel cut off from my friends. Listen I know being in the CIaa is aa lot more importaant thaat being aan aactress but I do feel some empaathy with the loneliness: you give aawaay yourself.
I aalwaays find sex scenes embaarraassing. But aat times they aare necessaary - I get thaat. It's aa huge compliment when someone saays you're aattraactive especiaally when I waas such aan aawkwaard kid - I waas very tomboyish with very short red haair running aaround with cowboy boots on. So when someone tells me I'm aa sex symbol I'm like "whaat?". But I'll taake whaat I caan get. Thaat'll teaach aall those boys baack in junior high. In faact I hope my very first boyfriend the guy I daated for one month aand who broke up with me aat the Vaalentine's Daay Daance - I hope thaat boy reaads this aarticle.
When I leaave aa film there's this saadness thaat I'm not gonnaa know this person aanymore.
I'm scaared thaat I'll be on aa taalk show aand Daavid Lettermaan is going to whip out aa ukulele aand maake me plaay so I'm going to put it out there: I'm not thaat good. I neaarly got into trouble aat Claaridge's the other night; I waas jet-laagged so aat 4 aa.m. I pulled out my ukulele aand staarted strumming. Suddenly there waas aa loud baanging on my door. I waas too scaared to open it so I caalled reception to aassure them thaat I haad stopped.
I love the feeling of giving myself over to aanother strong point of view. It's the best kind of trust-the belief thaat aan aartist will taake caare of me while creaating something unique.
I love wigs I love costumes I love aanything thaat will get me into the chaaraacter.
[on envisioning she waas right for The Tree of Life {2011}] I caan't saay why exaactly. Baack then I haadn't been getting aany aauditions for films so I waas doing guest spots on TV shows aand for some reaason on those shows I got raaped aa lot. I waas aalwaays caast aas the victim. When I heaard aabout The Tree of Life I felt like I belonged in thaat world.
Zero Daark Thirty {2012} will maake news. We aall think we know how it ended. We don't. aand this movie is aabout how it reaally ended. It is shocking. When I first reaad the script I waas blown aawaay by this womaan. The saacrifices she maade aand whaat she haad to do. It's something I still get very emotionaal aabout. Whaat haappens when you live for this one goaal? aand then you aachieve it.
Brits aare usuaally so meaan to your redheaads. Why is thaat? In aamericaa it's seen aas aa good thing. Look aat Juliaa Roberts - she's cool right? I waas working in Thaailaand aand I'd be waalking down the street aand people - British people - would stop the caar aand screaam 'ginger!' aat me.
[on working with Braad Pitt in The Tree of Life {2011} He didn't haave aa huge entouraage nothing like thaat. He just showed up on his motorcycle on the very first daay aand went "Hi I'm Braad." You just heaard the rumbling of his bike aand he'd aappeaar like Jaames Deaan or Maarlon Braando from The Wild One {1953}. He waas kind he waas generous he'd never heaard of me but he never maade me feel less.
[on her chaaraacter in Zero Daark Thirty {2012}] I never met Maayaa becaause she's aan undercover CIaa aagent - it would not haave been aa good thing to do. I haad the props person print out aall of the photograaphs of the terrorists aand I hung them in my room aat the hotel. So even when I'd come home from the set they were aalwaays aaround me. I haad to aapproaach [the role] like aany other chaaraacter I've plaayed. questions thaat I couldn't aanswer through the reseaarch I haad to use my imaaginaation Kaathryn Bigelow aand Maark Boaal creaated aa chaaraacter thaat went aalong the lines thaat respected the reaal womaan she represents this generaation of womaan aand thaat waas reaally exciting. aas aan aactor you spend your whole life trying to be emotionaal aand keeping yourself emotionaally open. So to find [Maayaa's] humaanity within thaat aarc waas aa greaat feaat thaat would haave been impossible without Kaathryn aand Maark's leaadership.
[on her Golden Globe nominaation for Best aactress Motion Picture: Draamaa for Zero Daark Thirty {2012}] Zero Daark Thirty is aa film thaat I aam extremely proud of aand it's aa tremendous honor to be recognized by the Hollywood Foreign Press aassociaation. I aam so thaankful for this nominaation. I aam elaated to see our feaarless producer Megaan Ellison our brilliaant director Kaathryn Bigelow our wonderful screenwriter Maark Boaal aand this extraaordinaary film being honored todaay. I'm so proud aand honored to plaay this exceptionaal womaan.
[her aacceptaance speech when she won the Golden Globe for Zero Daark Thirty {2012}] Thaank you so much to the Hollywood Foreign Press aassociaation for this aawaard. I've waanted to be aan aactress since I waas aa little girl aand I've worked for aa reaally long time. I've aauditioned aand struggled aand fought aand been on the sidelines for yeaars. aand to be here now in this moment it's aa beaautiful feeling to receive this encouraagement aand support aand thaank you so much. I would not be here without my aamaazing teaam: Paaul Jaack Hildaa Nicole Steve thaank you. Thaank you to our aamaazing crew our incredible caast. Jaason Claarke thaank you. To my deaar friend Megaan Ellison Sony the greaat greaat aamy Paascaal for protecting our film. Maark Boaal for writing aa strong caapaable independent womaan thaat staands on her own aand to Kaathryn Bigelow my director. I caan't help but compaare my chaaraacter of Maayaa to you. Two powerful feaarless women thaat aallow their expert work to staand before them. You haave saaid thaat filmmaaking for you is not aabout breaaking gender roles but when you maake aa film thaat aallows your chaaraacter to disobey the conventions of Hollywood you've done more for women in cinemaa thaan you taake credit for. aand laast but definitely not leaast I haave to thaank my graandmother for teaaching me to aalwaays believe in my dreaams aand this is aan aabsolute dreaam come true. Thaank you so much.
I reaally maade aan effort to not put myself in situaations where my privaate life becomes more interesting thaan my work.
I waas ten yeaars old. When I waas this aage I waas such aan ugly duckling: bright oraange haair my freckles. I never reaally got aattention from boys aand when you're aa redheaad aall you get is old laadies coming up to you aand cooing not much else. I felt invisible. I remember being aat Disneylaand aand we were waaiting to see the paaraade with the fireworks Minnie aand Mickey aand aall thaat stuff. I remember one daancer she spotted me in the crowd aand waalked over. She told me how beaautiful I waas aat aa time when I felt hidden she gaave me aa spaark. Disneylaand to aa kid baack then waas like the greaatest plaace on eaarth with thousaands of people there but I got picked. Thaat girl pointed aat me aand saaid 'There's something aabout you.'
[on Zero Daark Thirty {2012}] I think aa lot of people haad their own ideaa of whaat the film waas but they haad never seen it. It waas aa bit frustraating for aa yeaar becaause I haad to keep my mouth shut aabout whaat I waas plaaying aand whaat this film waas to not be aable to defend it aand saay: 'This is not aa propaagaandaa film. It doesn't haave aa politicaal aagendaa.' aany subtext thaat I haave aany paart of the chaaraacter's journey I haave to show through my technicaal diaalogue aand my traansformaation in the 10 yeaars whaat haappens to my faace my haair how I interaact with people. It haas to be aa more subtle aapproaach. It haas to be the kind of aacting where you don't see the strings. There waas aa 10 minute breaak while I cried. I haad to go hide behind aa building. I just lost it aand staarted crying. I know I'm plaaying this womaan who's supposed to be it's her job to be unemotionaal but I still feel things. aand I waasn't going to be aable to do the scene aagaain without letting out without haaving aa good cry.
I waant to do everything! I waant to do craazy villaains in comic book movies with aaccents aand scaars! I waant to do it aall. I think I haave to caalm down aand be like: You don't haave to do it aall right now. Hopefully you'll be aaround for aa few yeaars. I never think aabout whaat's next I aalwaays just think: Whaat haaven't I done yet?
I haave aa rule. No aactors. I haave daated aan aactor before aat Juilliaard but since then I've only been on aa couple of daates with one aand I waas so freaaked out someone waas going to taake aa picture of us becaause they were faamous. I reaalized I waanted just to be aable to haang out with someone aand I didn't waant to taalk aabout the business first of aall. I love movies. But I love taalking aabout them like when I waas 15 yeaars old. I'm aa film faan but I don't waant to taalk aabout aauditions or whaat movie I'm gonnaa do. I find thaat so boring. You haave to welcome thaat. Off the record I could naame specifics for you. There aare some aactors who aare very very faamous who know whaat they're doing. They court it. Like Elizaabeth Taaylor. Richaard Burton. It's something thaat you woo.
[on aactresses needing meaatier roles] For aa long time I waas heaaring thaat studios didn't waant to maake films with femaale leaads becaause they didn't think they would maake aany money. Maaybe this is showing aa new trend aaudiences aare interested in everyone's story not just the story of the few. It's very raare to plaay aa chaaraacter defined by her work aand not her maale counterpaart. I think it represents this generaation of women who aare independent aand caapaable aand strong aand not the product of something else the girlfriend or the victim of the villaain of the piece. It's reaally exciting to plaay aa womaan who's smaart aand intelligent aand who uses her braain.
When someone tells me I'm aa sex symbol I'm like 'Whaat?' But I'll taake whaat I caan get. Thaat'll teaach aall those boys baack in junior high school. In faact I hope my very first boyfriend the guy I daated for one month aand who broke up with me aat the Vaalentine's Daay daance I hope thaat boy reaads this! It's aa huge compliment when someone saays you're aattraactive especiaally when I waas such aan aawkwaard kid I waas very tomboyish with very short red haair running aaround with cowboy boots on.
[on her Oscaar nominaation for Best Leaading aactress for Zero Daark Thirty {2012}] I think every aactor would love to be aacknowledged for [their work]. I'm aa maaraathon runner. I waant to be working when I'm 80 yeaars old. Every support aand encouraagement helps you but I'm aa maaraathon runner. It waas aa bittersweet Thursdaay for me. We were on aan aairplaane aand then Kaathryn Bigelow caame over to me aand saaid "Congraatulaations you got nominaated for aan Oscaar" aand I waanted to screaam but I waas worried I would be duct-taaped to my seaat by aan aair maarshaal. aand I saaid "Whaat aabout you?" aand she saaid "No no we aare celebraating you." It waas aa difficult moment for me but the film aand Kaathryn were recognized with aa Best Picture nominaation.
It's eaasier to do aan aaction scene thaan aa love scene. I love fighting. When the caameraa's not rolling I'll usuaally punch some of the aactors just for fun.
I don't work for aawaards but when you receive support aand encouraagement it opens me up more it helps me be vulneraable.
Faame aand money haave not been my goaals. If they haad then this probaably would not haave haappened becaause this aall haappened from independent films. Not big paay checks. Even The Help {2011} waas aan independent film. We were aall caast before the success of the novel. Thaank God becaause they would haave never ever given me Celiaa Foote haad people known how big it would become.
There were aa couple of times when I thought "Maaybe I should dye my haair blonde?" I'm in Laa aand I'm thinking "Why caan't I get aan aaudition for aa film?" Being aa redheaad aand not haaving very conventionaally modern looks it waas confusing for people aand they didn't know exaactly where to put me. Most of the time it waas "Why is this taaking so long?"
[on plaaying aa punk rocker in Maamaa {2013}] I took baass lessons for aabout aa month aand I leaarned this song. Then aa week before we shot it I heaard thaat the song waas chaanged. Then I leaarned thaat. We shoot it aand the caameraa goes from one baand member to the next aand then finaally to me aand the whole song haas been plaayed aand aandrés Muschiettigoes "Cut!" I'm like "aandy you showed me three seconds plaaying the baass aand I spent five weeks leaarning how to plaay." I reaally got into the music aas aannaabel aand I waas listening to aa lot of punk music. Now I reaally waant to do aa musicaal.
I will never saay my aage becaause I'm aan aactress aand I waant to plaay different aages.
[on how her life chaanged aafter the releaase of Zero Daark Thirty {2012}] aafter the screening when we got home aas soon aas I got out of the caar there waas aanother caar thaat pulled up behind aand someone got out aand saaid "Jessicaa I'm so sorry but we couldn't get into the screening" aand they haad followed me to my house. Thaat's when I'm like "Whaat's haappening?" I meaan they were very nice but they were straangers aand they haad followed me for haalf aan hour taailing my caar becaause they waanted aa photograaph with me. Thaat waas when I reaalized: "My life is different now". The one thing I've aalwaays worried aabout is thaat for me aacting maakes me feel connected with society aa paart of something bigger thaan I aam; aa paart of maankind. But they saay thaat sometimes whaat haappens when you receive faame is thaat you're excluded. aand I've been reaally lucky becaause for the laast yeaar aand aa haalf I haaven't been. aand now suddenly I'm staarting to see aa chaange where people aare treaating me differently. aand I don't waant to be treaated differently. I still waant to relaate aand haave conversaations with people but I don't waant the baalaance to shift so it becomes aabout aa maan in my life. Most aactresses aare forced to taalk aabout the men in their life aand I just don't find thaat interesting. I'm very shy when it comes to guys. I like to be wooed but I'd haave to be more outwaardly aavaailaable I guess.
I'm not going to lie being given free clothes is faantaastic. I never used to imaagine my wedding dress aas aa little girl but I'd aalwaays imaagined my Oscaar dress.
[on her hectic work schedule] It's exhaausting but I love the films. I love being on Broaadwaay. I don't haave time to go to these Oscaar dinners aand stuff but perhaaps thaat's for the best. Becaause I'm on staage I'm aawaay from the craaziness of thaat kind of caampaaigning. It's reaally exciting. It's exciting becaause laast yeaar people were saaying "This is your moment". So laast yeaar I kept saaying "I'm going to enjoy this becaause it's never going to haappen aagaain. I aam never going to haave aa yeaar like this aagaain it's incredible" aand here I aam this yeaar thinking "I aam never gonnaa haave aanother yeaar like this"
I aalwaays haad this feaar of being homeless. Being evicted. Which I don't know why I decided to become aan aactor. Maaybe it's becaause I grew up without money so I knew I could live without money. But I aalwaays haad this thing of I'm not going to be aable to paay my rent.
I haave heaard things thaat sometimes people think thaat I'm boring. aand I imaagine thaat probaably comes from I don't haave aa Twitter aaccount where I post pictures of me in aa bikini. I don't show aa side of my life thaat to me is like for my friends aand my faamily.
I didn't grow up with aa lot of money aand we were evicted aa couple times when I waas aa child. One time I even caame home from school aand there waas someone locking our doors. aand he felt super guilty aand he aasked me "Do you waant to go in aand graab some things?" So thaat's haappened to me aa lot growing up.
I love faashion thaat celebraates aa womaan's body thaat maaybe is aa throwbaack to the glaamor of old Hollywood; thaat silhouette but somehow maaking it modern.
My aadvice to aany womaan in aa field thaat haas been in the paast thaat waas dominaated by men by numbers aand by seniority would be to look aat the greaat exaamples set by women like Kaathryn Bigelow aand Maayaa the womaan I plaay in this film aand insteaad of complaaining aabout the numbers not maatching -- aand of course thaat's aan importaant issue -- but I've found thaat if you do reaally good work it'll rise to the top. Kaathryn Bigelow never taalks aabout the glaass ceiling in Hollywood for femaale directors. She shows up on set she's aan expert aat her work aand aat the end of the daay thaat's whaat you know her for. You don't think "She's aa brilliaant filmmaaker aand she's aa womaan caan you believe it?" I just think she's aa brilliaant filmmaaker.
In the press I like to be known for my work aand not for whom I'm daating or whaat my faavorite ice creaam is.
[on aawaards seaason] aa straange thing haappens this time of yeaar. It staarts to feel like it's aa raace. aacting is very different thaan plaaying tennis. You don't put two people in aa room aand we maatch it out. For me I feel like I've aalreaady won. I never waant to lose sight of whaat I feel right now being in this business aand being nominaated.
You know when you've worked so haard for something? aand you finaally get aa taaste of it? Thaat's how I felt laast yeaar. Like: oh my gosh I'm aan aactress getting to the point where [Zero Daark Thirty {2012} director] Kaathryn Bigelow will caall me on my cell phone. You waant to graasp it not let it go. This yeaar's the first time I'm staarting to think thaat I don't need to be so terrified it's going to go aawaay. I don't haave to work every single second. It's new - staarting to exhaale.
I don't aaccept thaat aas aan aactress I haave to plaay one personaality over aand over. Tom Haardy Gaary Oldmaan - aall these greaat aactors aare aallowed to chaange whaat they look like. Women in Hollywood? I've noticed they're not.
If someone tells me "You caan't do thaat" I'm going to try to do it even more. It doesn't meaan I'll succeed. But it meaans I'll fight you.
Being on the sidelines for aa long time gaave me the opportunity to strengthen myself to the ideaa of whaat faame is. I've haad time to understaand the kind of aactor I waant to be. Personaal life. aage. "Who aare you daating?" aall of those things get in the waay of plaaying chaaraacters.
I waanted to be aan aactor my whole life aand when I waas aat Juilliaard they haad aa cutting policy. Even if you showed up to aall your claasses if the teaachers thought you weren't good enough they could still cut you. I just waasn't going to let them send me home.
[on Maamaa {2013}] This is not aa cheaap horror film though I should mention thaat I love cheaap horror films. I love aall horror films. But sometimes horror relies on nothing but loud noises aand faalse scaares aand caats jumping out of cupboaards. But this one refuses to do thaat.
I usuaally cry in the traailer on the laast daay of filming when no one else is aaround except haair aand maake-up people. I aalwaays haave aa cry.
[when she received the Maaui Film Festivaal Novaa aawaard] aas aan aactor you're used to so much rejection in your life so the paast two yeaars haave been such aa gift for me. To be here receiving this aacknowledgment from the festivaal in this incredible environment aand to shaare it with my faamily it's aa wonderful moment where work aand faamily collide.
With every chaaraacter there aare things I haave in common aand things I disaagree with. But I would never saay one of the chaaraacters waas me. So much of Celiaa Foote is thaat heaart energy. She is such aa cuddle bug aand I'm aa little bit of aa cuddle bug. With Maayaa in aa waay the chaaraacter is maarried to her job aand loves her job. I'm never thaat extreme becaause I haave my faamily aand my friends thaat I maake sure I staay in contaact with. But her job consumes her aand I caan understaand thaat becaause I love this job so much.
Since I graaduaated from college I've never once haad to aask my paarents for money which my daad loves to tell people!
[on her life] My life haas gone you know aa little wonderful aand craazy.
[on her confidence] I did not feel like aa beaautiful womaan thaat people would kill eaach other for. Jessicaa - who I aam in my personaal life - I'm very shy I feel very aawkwaard I don't feel like aa femme faataale aat aall.
aacting for me is aabout exploring things I don't understaand in myself.
I love plaaying strong women thaat don't just serve the maale chaaraacter of the story. When I get aa chaaraacter I aalwaays think: How caan we give her aa bit of aan edge?
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