Jessica Chastain Quotes

There I was at 'The Tree of Life' premiere, holding hands with Sean Penn and Brad Pitt. That walk down the red carpet was a real rite of passage for me. Suddenly, journalists began asking, 'Who's this actress?'

- Jessica Chastain

Hands, Sean Penn, Penn, Pitt

My goal is that a girl will watch 'The Martian' or 'Interstellar' and think, 'I want to be an astronaut or a quantum physicist.' It's important to show powerful women who are good at their jobs because young girls need those examples.

- Jessica Chastain

Young, Show, Martian, Physicist

I was a dramatic kid. I remember, I was very young, and once I knew what I wanted to do I, like, created a theater company, and I would direct, and we would sell lemonade to buy props.

- Jessica Chastain

Young, I Remember, Very, Lemonade

We know in our society, women are valued for their sexual desirability and not necessarily for what they have to say.

- Jessica Chastain

Society, Know, Valued, Desirability

I actually chose to do 'X-Men' because I'm working with Simon Kinberg, who's also a first-time filmmaker who I met on 'The Martian' and is an incredible writer and producer.

- Jessica Chastain

Incredible, Also, Martian, First-Time

I'm very much a hippie from Northern California.

- Jessica Chastain

California, Very, Northern, Hippie

I'm inspired by antiques. I look at things that have a wink to the past but are also reinterpreted in some way and made to feel modern... and maybe that's what I am.

- Jessica Chastain

Past, Some, Maybe, Wink

Making films can be very lonely, and that's the part I don't like. I don't want to feel like I'm pressing 'pause' on my personal life to make a movie. I want to feel like I'm still creating relationships and things are moving forward.

- Jessica Chastain

Movie, Part, Very, Pressing

I'm very sensitive in real life. I cannot not cry if someone around me is crying. I will start to cry if someone is crying, even if it's not appropriate. I have that thing in me, a weakness or sensitivity.

- Jessica Chastain

Will, Very, Appropriate, Crying

I have problems because I'm very expressive, and usually red lipstick gets on my teeth and face.

- Jessica Chastain

Lipstick, Very, Gets, Red Lipstick

In our society, women are valued for their sexual attraction. I'd like to get away from the sex symbol idea of what beauty is. Actually, that's probably the farthest thing from beauty, because it's makeup and hair, it's pouty lips - it's not real.

- Jessica Chastain

Makeup, Away, Symbol, Attraction

I'm a shadow whisperer: I hide in the shadows. And I tend to avoid places where I might get photographed and end up with my picture in the press.

- Jessica Chastain

Shadow, Might, Photographed, Shadows

Women can be powerful, graceful, and complex, with the ability to make any choice they desire.

- Jessica Chastain

Powerful, Desire, Complex, Graceful

This is an industry rife with racism, sexism and homophobia. It is so closely woven into the fabric of the business that we have become snowblind to the glaring injustices happening every day.

- Jessica Chastain

Racism, Closely, Rife, Injustices

When you take away healthcare from women, you're keeping women out of the workforce because you're eliminating their choice of when to start a family.

- Jessica Chastain

Start, Away, Keeping, Workforce

This is what the media does with women. You try to divide and conquer women so you can intimidate and victimise them. This is why they don't make movies where a lot of women get to be on set together. It's about dividing.

- Jessica Chastain

Conquer, Set, Dividing, Intimidate

What's wrong with trying hard and showing up and being good at your job? We really need to look at ourselves and say we need to reevaluate this. We need to reevaluate that women who ask for a pay raise or ask for a promotion - it's actually an okay thing. It's okay to be ambitious; it's okay to be over-prepared.

- Jessica Chastain

Good, Your, Ourselves, Showing Up

My grandmother came with me when I moved out to New York. She stayed with me for a week. I was, you know, living in the dorm. The first year, I had a lot of anxiety, and, I remember, my teachers kept saying I had so much jaw tension.

- Jessica Chastain

Week, I Remember, Year, Dorm

One of my goals is to play a villain in a Bond film. People ask me if I want to be a Bond girl, and I say, 'No, I want to be the villain.' I'm waiting for that call!

- Jessica Chastain

Waiting, Play, Villain, Goals

I look at all the ingredients of a film and say, 'Is this a positive thing that I'm putting into the world? Is there honor and respect in the way the story is being told about them? And would they approve of that?'

- Jessica Chastain

Honor, About, Putting, Positive Thing

I'm so inspired by the women who are far braver than I am, who have come forward with their stories and risked everything to help others. What is important is that the voices of these women do not disappear. We must amplify them.

- Jessica Chastain

Disappear, Far, Amplify, Braver

I'm going to do anything I can to be there and support any organization that empowers and creates opportunities for women.

- Jessica Chastain

Organization, Going, Creates, Empowers

Funny how defined we are by how we present ourselves to the world.

- Jessica Chastain

World, Present, How, Defined

I love fall because I love the whole cuddling aspect of it, and a sweater dress has that vibe of I'm going to hunker down and be warm, but it's also very feminine.

- Jessica Chastain

Love, Dress, Vibe, Sweater

I'm working hard to break free of stereotypes that the film industry has created and nurtured around women.

- Jessica Chastain

Stereotypes, Break, Created, Film Industry

Okay, I'm going to let you in on a little secret: I'm a very superstitious person. I'm walking onto the plane as we speak. I'm putting my hands on the outside of the plane and my feet are on the lip of the plane. I have to do it every time before I fly.

- Jessica Chastain

Feet, Very, Plane, Every Time

We have a long way to go in the world in all industries. If I'm in the situation where I have equal experience to the other actor and my role is just as significant, there is no reason why I should be paid less. It's not really part of my world anymore, because I just won't accept it.

- Jessica Chastain

Reason, Other, Role, Industries

Being a woman has always been a powerful thing, where history has sometimes dictated otherwise, but I believe that a woman can be compassionate, sensitive, soft, kind.

- Jessica Chastain

Always, Been, Otherwise, Dictated

I don't want to be in my car all day. I love getting up in the morning in Venice and walking my dogs down to the cafe to get my tea, and then perhaps going to a bookstore and sitting and reading, then walking to the beach.

- Jessica Chastain

Love, Down, Getting, Sitting

I think when you congratulate yourselves for diversity, that means nothing's really changed.

- Jessica Chastain

Think, Congratulate, Means, Changed

My grandmother took me to a play, and... there was a little girl on stage. And as soon as I saw her on stage, I thought, 'This is my job'... I was probably, like, 7 or 8. I was very young... It was 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'.

- Jessica Chastain

Thought, Play, Very, Joseph

I understood the importance of doing an Aaron Sorkin film. He's a political filmmaker.

- Jessica Chastain

Doing, Importance, Aaron, Understood

For the most part, I was surprised by the representation of female characters onscreen. I do hope that when we include more female storytellers, we will have more of the women that I recognize in my day to day life.

- Jessica Chastain

Will, More, Include, Storytellers

I am not one to go for traditional female roles, because I don't think traditionally female characters are very interesting, and I don't think they represent real life.

- Jessica Chastain

Think, Very, Roles, Represent

I can't even open my eyes underwater.

- Jessica Chastain

Eyes, Underwater, Even, Open

Everyone has to learn how to live in an environment that has not made it easy for women to claim their place, so I think it's all women's responsibility to step forward.

- Jessica Chastain

Think, Everyone, I Think, Claim

As an actor, I have a lot of fear, thinking that if I speak my mind, or something that feels like it deviates from the norm as a woman, am I going to be made to disappear in my industry?

- Jessica Chastain

Woman, Mind, Feels, Norm

The great thing about modern feminism is that women can define what it means to them: it can mean being ambitious, it can mean being emotional, it can mean being sensitive and compassionate and also a leader. It can mean all those things.

- Jessica Chastain

Leader, Emotional, Means, Compassionate

I like characters and stories that challenge the status quo. Lately, I'm really interested in history because I find that in my public school education, I didn't learn about women in history. I want to introduce the world to some great stories and incredible heroes.

- Jessica Chastain

Some, About, Great Stories, Lately

I just want to see more women in film and behind the camera. I'm tired of seeing movies from one perspective.

- Jessica Chastain

Want, Behind, More, Camera

We need to understand that femininity is not weakness. And our society, for some reason, equates the two.

- Jessica Chastain

Reason, Weakness, Some, Femininity

I love being around great actors and film-makers, and I try to hide the fact that I'm in awe of them.

- Jessica Chastain

Love, Fact, Them, Film-Makers

There's a lot of criticism on how an actress is aging. Why do we do that with women? I work with a lot of men who take terrible care of themselves - they drink too much, or they eat too much. We need to allow women to age.

- Jessica Chastain

Need, Actress, Allow, Aging

I find it very interesting: when 90 percent of the critics that review films are men, how is that helpful when trying to create stories from a feminine point of view?

- Jessica Chastain

Very, Stories, Films, Helpful

I just don't think of myself as a movie star - I'm an actress.

- Jessica Chastain

Think, Movie, Actress, Movie Star

I've actually been given a great gift. When I walk into an audition with a director, I'm carrying no baggage. They haven't seen me in anything, even though I've done nine films.

- Jessica Chastain

Gift, Been, Nine, Carrying

My grandmother was my inspiration. She was the person who took me to the theater and encouraged me to act, and she's the one who always believed in me.

- Jessica Chastain

Grandmother, Always, Took, Believed

I try not to fake anything.

- Jessica Chastain

Try, Anything, Fake

I grew up in a low-income family. I was raised by a single mother.

- Jessica Chastain

Mother, Single, I Was Raised, Low-Income

When I first moved to Los Angeles, I don't think anyone knew what to do with me.

- Jessica Chastain

Think, Los, Angeles, Los Angeles

My whole life, I wanted to be an actor. Perhaps the seed was planted when I saw Sigourney Weaver in 'Alien', wiping the floor with the men on the ship.

- Jessica Chastain

Seed, Planted, Saw, Floor

My favourite smell is the smell of cut grass, and the sound of sprinklers going on.

- Jessica Chastain

Sound, Going, Cut, Grass

In the characters that I play, I'm so involved in the look; it's very, very important to me. Because how a person presents him or herself to the world, they're saying something about themselves. It's their first form of advertisement.

- Jessica Chastain

Play, Very, About, Herself

The reason we like acting is connecting to other people.

- Jessica Chastain

Reason, Other, Like, Connecting

Acting, for me, has never been about wanting attention or wanting to be seen. It's funny that I'm in a profession where that's where I am. There's so much I want to express; it's about connecting with another person and the intimacy of what that is, and so I have to overcome my shyness.

- Jessica Chastain

Been, Wanting, Another, Connecting

I think, in the past, being brave - being powerful, being strong - were qualities that people associated with being masculine. And I think... no, I don't think - I know that now we're realizing they can be feminine, too.

- Jessica Chastain

Strong, Think, In The Past, Realizing

I'm such a geek.

- Jessica Chastain

Geek

Only a woman can tell you what it's like to be a woman in a society where men are in charge. When you have one demographic that controls the livelihood of minorities, then you're always going to have abuses of power. So this goes way beyond Hollywood.

- Jessica Chastain

Woman, Controls, Hollywood, Livelihood

One of my favorite parts of being an actress is being a detective.

- Jessica Chastain

Actress, Parts, Being, Detective

People were confused by me, and at first I was auditioning a lot for the crazy characters or the victim, someone who'd been attacked. Which is great, because usually those are the best acting roles.

- Jessica Chastain

Been, Which, Roles, Victim

I cut school to read Shakespeare and to learn about that because, for the first time, I felt like I really discovered a passion - the passion of my life.

- Jessica Chastain

My Life, Discovered, Cut, Shakespeare

I'm not taking jobs anymore where I'm getting paid a quarter of what the male co-star is being paid. I'm not allowing that in my life.

- Jessica Chastain

My Life, Jobs, Being, Quarter

There have been situations where I have lost movies because I've said, 'This is not a fair deal,' and I've walked away.

- Jessica Chastain

Deal, Away, Been, Situations

When 'Tree of Life' went to Cannes, all the interviewers were asking me about my favorite actors and actresses because I was new to the industry, and they wanted to get to know me.

- Jessica Chastain

Tree, New, Asking, Tree Of Life

It takes me a long time to make a big purchase.

- Jessica Chastain

Me, Long Time, Big, Purchase

I started a production company - all female led, actually - called Freckle Films.

- Jessica Chastain

Production, Actually, Films, Female

There is this immediate connection, this intimacy when you're acting because there's no room to be polite or shy. Also, as an actor I get to connect with women I've never met before.

- Jessica Chastain

Shy, Before, Polite, Met

Some people think I've had a nose job. I've never had anything like that done, but I have no judgement of anyone that does.

- Jessica Chastain

Think, Nose, Some, Some People

You know, it's recently come into focus for me why I want to be an actor: It's because of the connection I feel to people.

- Jessica Chastain

Focus, Want, Recently, Connection

I was excited that my films would finally see the light of day and people would see them. But I never imagined that such nice things would be said about a lot of my films.

- Jessica Chastain

Excited, Finally, Films, Nice Things

The power of 'no' means you're educating people in how to treat you.

- Jessica Chastain

Treat, How, Means, Educating

I'm used to working really hard to get a role. I was always auditioning and talking my way into roles.

- Jessica Chastain

Always, Role, Roles, Auditioning

I'm the unknown everyone's already sick of.

- Jessica Chastain

Sick, Everyone, Unknown

I went to public school, and I didn't do well in school. And it wasn't until, actually, I got into school at Juilliard - it was the first time in my life that I thought, 'Oh, maybe I'm not stupid,' because I was so inspired and passionate about what I was learning, and it was the first time in my life I had felt that.

- Jessica Chastain

Stupid, My Life, Thought, Juilliard

When something happens, I always check myself and know it's going to go away. So be prepared for it. This is a tough business for actors who are sensitive. If you try to hold on to things, you'll go crazy.

- Jessica Chastain

Prepared, Away, Hold, Tough Business

What I do now, when I'm taking on a film, I always ask about the fairness of the pay. I ask what they're offering me in comparison to the guy. I don't care about how much I get paid; I'm in an industry where we're overcompensated for the work we do.

- Jessica Chastain

Guy, Industry, About, Paid

Gian Luca and I have been together for such a long time, we're in it for the long haul.

- Jessica Chastain

Long, Been, Long Haul, Haul

I'm inspired by people who are so sensitive and vulnerable that they try to cover it up.

- Jessica Chastain

Try, Inspired, Cover, Vulnerable

When I get a script that has the opportunity to create discussion and inspire young girls, I don't want to say no to that... I just want to contribute.

- Jessica Chastain

Young, Want, Young Girls, Script

I do know that people treat me different with blonde hair than they do with red hair.

- Jessica Chastain

Hair, Red, Treat, Blonde

I'm either thought of as ethereal or fiery. And maybe that's the interesting thing about red hair: there's that fiery Renaissance connotation and the ethereal.

- Jessica Chastain

Thought, Maybe, Connotation, Fiery

What can I do to create a healthy work environment? Because we have all been groomed to the normalization of violence and the normalization of abuse. And we refuse to live in that society.

- Jessica Chastain

Work, Abuse, Been, Violence

Before, it was just about making the films - and now it's releasing them. Which is a steep learning curve.

- Jessica Chastain

Making, Which, Films, Steep

I never heard in my entire life that a man was overprepared for anything. I am overprepared in my life. What's wrong with being ambitious, being overprepared, being one step ahead?

- Jessica Chastain

My Life, Ahead, Being, Heard

I'm a true believer that you get out of something what you put into it.

- Jessica Chastain

True, Get, True Believer, Believer

If you're one of the only women on a set - if it's you and a bunch of men - you feel like your value doesn't come from your thoughts and your talent and what you say: your value comes from how you look and how you're perceived by the men around you.

- Jessica Chastain

Thoughts, Like, Set, Perceived

I sometimes go to a movie and eat my popcorn and turn my brain off. I love those movies. But the movies I like to be in, for the most part, are the ones that challenge you.

- Jessica Chastain

Love, Movie, Like, Popcorn

If I'm in Italy, I'll have an espresso, but I try not to get my energy from things like that.

- Jessica Chastain

Like, Get, Things, Italy

I think that with any emotion - fear, love, nervousness - if the actor's feeling it, then the audience feels it.

- Jessica Chastain

Love, Think, Feels, Nervousness

I don't know if there will ever be a day that I'm not wearing heels. I'm a very big personality, and I don't like to look up at other people.

- Jessica Chastain

Big, Other, Very, Heels

Green tea throughout the day is the healthiest thing I've discovered for me.

- Jessica Chastain

Tea, Green, Discovered, Throughout

If you want me in your film, do a favored-nation clause. Don't determine my worth based on what's left over.

- Jessica Chastain

Over, Based, Determine, Clause

We have grown up watching women be used as props on a man's journey. It's not our fault that that's what we saw as children. But we need to acknowledge that and do better.

- Jessica Chastain

Journey, Need, Saw, Acknowledge

If I were Elizabeth Sloane, I wouldn't be wearing makeup. I'd just be focused on getting the job done.

- Jessica Chastain

Makeup, Done, Elizabeth, Wearing

For the longest time, people would say to me that I didn't feel very modern, that I seemed from another time.

- Jessica Chastain

Very, Longest, Seemed, Time People

If I can help create empathy and balance in society, I'm going to do whatever I can to tell stories that subconsciously create that.

- Jessica Chastain

Empathy, Going, Stories, Subconsciously

I talked to congressmen who really hate having to go to the many fundraisers, but they see it as a necessary part of their job.

- Jessica Chastain

Necessary, Part, Having, Talked

I can't tell you how many incredible directors I long to work with, but then I look at their IMDb page, and they haven't made a single movie about a woman.

- Jessica Chastain

Work, Woman, Movie, Page

I'm really inspired by stories I didn't know about.

- Jessica Chastain

Know, Stories, About, Inspired

I don't like the idea that fame could mean that people can no longer relate to me.

- Jessica Chastain

Like, Idea, Longer, Relate

I always say I am a realist, and my mom says, 'No, you just have anxiety.'

- Jessica Chastain

I Am, Anxiety, Always, Realist

I take great responsibility in any character that I play.

- Jessica Chastain

Character, Play, Take, Great Responsibility

Broadway has always been a dream of mine.

- Jessica Chastain

Always, Been, Mine, Broadway

I struggled for so long to try to create a career.

- Jessica Chastain

Career, Try, Create, Struggled

If someone doesn't want to hire me because they think I'm too vocal, fine. I will do a play. I will always find a job. Let them try to get me out of this industry. I am not going to be silenced!

- Jessica Chastain

Play, Hire, Vocal, Silenced

I've spent my life being embarrassed.

- Jessica Chastain

My Life, Being, Spent, Embarrassed

I was the first one in my family to go to college.

- Jessica Chastain

Family, College, Go, First One

For me, I'm not in an industry where I'm starving.

- Jessica Chastain

Me, Industry, Where, Starving

I have a feeling that very soon I'm going to fail very, very big. I'm going to try something and everybody's going to be like, 'What was she thinking?'

- Jessica Chastain

Big, Everybody, Very, Soon

I've had to learn how to say 'no' to offers.

- Jessica Chastain

Learn, How, Had, Offers

If I get a role, it's because I fought for it.

- Jessica Chastain

Role, Because, Get, Fought

I've never been in New York for the whole time of Fashion Week.

- Jessica Chastain

New, Never, Been, Week

Whatever anyone says, I think the opposite will happen.

- Jessica Chastain

Think, Happen, I Think, Opposite

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