We Have Robin Williams To Thank For Jessica Chastain
Although she was always a naturally gifted actress, even Jessica Chastain went to college to study the dramatic arts and hone in on her chosen career path. While chatting with Whoopi Goldberg on a recent episode of The View, the Academy Award-winning actress revealed that without Robin Williams, she never would have had the incredible experience of attending Juilliard – the revered school where so many respected performers count themselves as alumni. As Chastain explained to the gals of the daytime talk show, it was the scholarship in Williams’ name that allowed her to have the financials needed to attend the New York City college.
Growing up in a single-parent household, Jessica Chastain shared a bit of her backstory, saying that her mother’s wages alone would have never been enough to put her through college – especially at a school as expensive as Juilliard. All of that changed for the budding star when she received the Robin Williams scholarship, which gave her a hefty boost. Not only did the scholarship pay for her classes, but it also “paid for my housing” and allowed her “to be able to go home for Christmas and see my family.”
Essentially, Jessica Chastain had the bi-annual scholarship to thank for getting her foot into classroom doors and the opportunity to study alongside the best of the best. She went on to say that the benefit in Robin Williams’ name even covered things like textbooks and food, which, as anyone who’s paid their way through university will know, quickly add up, especially when you’re down on money to begin with.
Though she wrote him thank you letters year after year, Jessica Chastain says she was never able to thank Robin Williams in person – something she wishes she could have done before he died in 2014. As fate would have it, she once spotted him while both actors were enjoying a meal separately at a restaurant, but she knew that this wasn’t the time to insert herself into his day.
Despite never having the chance to give the legendary comedian and actor a verbal thank you, Jessica Chastain hasn’t wasted a second of her Juilliard education. With the Robin Williams scholarship carrying her through her studies, the actress has gone on to wow audiences through her performances on both screen and stage. In fact, there’s a good chance that Williams heard Chastain’s name in the years leading up to his death as she held critically acclaimed roles in such titles as The Tree of Life, The Help, and Zero Dark Thirty and more risque movies like Salome.
Jessica Chastain continues to honor Robin Williams’ legacy through her Academy Award-winning performance in The Eyes of Tammy Faye – in which she starred opposite Andrew Garfield. She also recently showed off her stage chops by starring in the 2023 Broadway revival of A Doll’s House, a role that earned her a Tony Award nom.
Next, Chastain will put her top-tier education to good use alongside Peter Sarsgaard in Michel Franco’s drama Memory, which arrives in cinemas on December 22 and is not to be confused with the 2022 Liam Neeson-led action feature of the same name.
Source: The View
