List of Jessica Chastain performances

A photograph of Chastain gently smiling
Chastain at the BFI London Film Festival in 2014

American actress Jessica Chastain studied at the Juilliard School, where she was signed for a talent holding deal by the television producer John Wells.[1] From 2004 to 2010, she had guest roles in television shows, including ER, Veronica Mars, and Law & Order: Trial by Jury.[1][2] She also appeared in stage productions with Michelle Williams for The Cherry Orchard in 2004, and with Al Pacino for Salome in 2006.[2] In 2008, Chastain played the title character in her film debut Jolene.[3] She had a minor role in Stolen (2009), a critically panned mystery-thriller, following which she played the younger version of Helen Mirren's character in the action thriller film The Debt (2010).[4][5]

The year 2011 proved a breakthrough for Chastain.[6] Among her six film releases that year, she starred with Brad Pitt in The Tree of Life, an experimental drama from Terrence Malick, and portrayed an aspiring socialite in 1960s America in the drama The Help.[7] For the latter, Chastain received her first Academy Award nomination, in the supporting actress category.[8] In 2012, she voiced Gia in the $747 million-grossing animated film Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.[9] She also played a CIA analyst in Kathryn Bigelow's thriller Zero Dark Thirty—a partly fictionalized account of the manhunt for Osama bin Laden—which garnered her a nomination for Academy Award for Best Actress.[10] Also in 2012, Chastain made her Broadway debut in a revival of The Heiress, playing a naive young girl who becomes a powerful woman.[11]

In 2013, Chastain starred in the horror film Mama, and played an unhappily married woman in Ned Benson's three-part drama film, collectively titled The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.[12] Chastain's biggest live-action commercial successes came in the next two years with the science fiction films Interstellar (2014) and The Martian (2015), both of which grossed over $600 million worldwide.[13] In the former, directed by Christopher Nolan, she played a scientist, and in the latter, directed by Ridley Scott, she played an astronaut alongside Matt Damon.[14][15] Chastain went on to play strong-willed titular protagonists in the political thriller Miss Sloane (2016), the historical drama The Zookeeper's Wife (2017), and the crime film Molly's Game (2017).[16] In 2019, Chastain played the adult Beverly Marsh in the horror sequel It Chapter Two.[17] In 2021, she starred in the HBO miniseries Scenes from a Marriage, and produced and starred as the televangelist Tammy Faye in the biopic The Eyes of Tammy Faye.[18][19] For the latter, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress.[20] Chastain received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for starring in a 2023 Broadway revival of A Doll's House.[21]

  1. ^ a b Rochlin, Margy (August 24, 2011). "A Star Not Quite Overnight". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 18, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Mulkerrins, Jane (November 2, 2014). "Jessica Chastain interview: on Interstellar, her rise to fame and being an outsider". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  3. ^ Nelson, Rob (June 16, 2008). "Review: 'Jolene'". Variety. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  4. ^ "Stolen (2010)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on August 22, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  5. ^ Mintzer, Jordan (September 4, 2010). "Review: 'The Debt'". Variety. Archived from the original on June 29, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  6. ^ Prigge, Matt (September 10, 2014). "Interview: Jessica Chastain wanted 'Eleanor Rigby' to have more of the female side". Metro New York. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  7. ^ Sherwell, Philip (October 23, 2011). "The Help: the film dividing America". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on August 23, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  8. ^ Bierly, Mandi (February 22, 2012). "Oscars 2012 Behind the Scenes: Casting 'The Help' nominees Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and Jessica Chastain". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  9. ^ "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  10. ^ Rothman, Lily (January 11, 2013). "Jessica Chastain: The Oscar-Nominated Star Talks About Playing the 'Girl' Who Got bin Laden". Time. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  11. ^ Green, Adam (October 22, 2012). "The Marriage Plot: Jessica Chastain Stars in Broadway's The Heiress". Vogue. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  12. ^ O'Hehir, Andrew (September 11, 2014). ""The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby": A mesmerizing marriage drama — in three different versions". Salon. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  13. ^ "Jessica Chastain Movie Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on May 9, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  14. ^ Malkin, Marc (October 11, 2014). "Watch Jessica Chastain Tease Interstellar: "It's Definitely A Love Story"". E!. Archived from the original on September 3, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  15. ^ McCarthy, Todd (September 11, 2015). "'The Martian': TIFF Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 27, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  16. ^ Scheneller, Johanna (March 30, 2017). "The many defiant women of Jessica Chastain". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on October 11, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  17. ^ O'Sullivan, Charlotte (September 3, 2019). "It: Chapter Two: Why Jessica Chastain Was Covered in 4,500 Gallons of Fake Blood". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on September 9, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  18. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 23, 2020). "Jessica Chastain Re-Teams With Oscar Isaac In HBO Series 'Scenes From A Marriage' After Michelle Williams Exit". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  19. ^ Fear, David. "'The Eyes of Tammy Faye': Jessica Chastain Will Have You Crying 'Holy Sh-t'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  20. ^ Pulver, Andrew (March 27, 2022). "Jessica Chastain wins best actress Oscar for The Eyes of Tammy Faye". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  21. ^ Evans, Greg (May 2, 2023). "Tony Award Nominations: Jessica Chastain, Sean Hayes, Corey Hawkins Among Nominees". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.