Jessica Chastain Reveals The Unexpected Way She Treats Her Competition
What happens when you face off with her?
This article is more than 2 years old
Jessica Chastain is known for her roles in feminist-themed movies and has been very outspoken about gender and racial equality. Now that her latest project, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, has earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, the 44-year-old revealed how she celebrated the news. Instead of sizing up her competition, the actress said she sent flowers to all the other women nominated in her category.
Nominated for Best Actress alongside Jessica Chastain are Olivia Colman for The Lost Daughter, Penélope Cruz for Parallel Mothers, Nicole Kidman for Being the Ricardos, and Kristen Stewart for Spencer. In an interview with People, she explained how she reached out to each of them individually. “This is gonna sound silly, but when I got nominated, I reached out. I Face Timed Penélope, I called Olivia, I called Kristen and reached out to Nicole and sent everyone flowers.”
Jessica Chastain also talked about connecting with Olivia Colman, who she texted after talking on the phone. She said the English actress gushed about all the fun they would have together on the big night. “She’s super funny,” the Scenes from a Marriage star said. “The way she described how much fun we’re gonna have. I can tell that she’s someone who knows how to have a good time. That’s the thing I’m looking forward to the most.”
While Jessica Chastain is excited to share the spotlight with these other incredible women, she’s also celebrating another Oscar nomination. The Eyes of Tammy Faye star says she’s going to skip the famed Oscar Red carpet to cheer for the movie’s make-up artists. The team of Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram, and Justin Raleigh are nominated in the Best Makeup and Hairstyling category.
Speaking to Next Best Picture host Matt Neglia (via HuffPost) about her decision to forego the photo-op Jessica Chastain said, “The most important thing for me is to honor the incredible artisans who work in our industry.” She also explained that although most of the attention in the movie business is on the actors, people need to understand how “beyond an actor a performance is.”
Directed by Michael Showalter from a screenplay by Abe Sylvia, The Eyes of Tammy Faye is based on the 2000 documentary of the same name. The biographical drama tells the story of Tammy Faye Bakker (Jessica Chastain). It chronicles her life growing up in Minnesota to the rise and fall of her televangelism career. It also touches on her marriage to Jim Bakker. The film also stars Andrew Garfield, Cherry Jones, and Vincent D’Onofrio.
The Jessica Chastain starrer debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2021. After being released by Searchlight Pictures later that month, the film grossed $2.7 million at the global box office. Interestingly, The Eyes of Tammy Faye received mixed reviews from the critics who maligned the screenplay comparing it unfavorably to the documentary by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato.
However, the acting performances were praised – especially Jessica Chastain’s. Since then the star won a Critics Choice Award for Best Actress and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Along with her Oscar nomination she also earned a nod for a Golden Globe Award. The film also won the BAFTA for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
