Jessica Chastain Quotes
1. I always say I am a realist, and my mom says: "No, you just have anxiety."
2. Before, it was just about making the films - and now it's releasing them. Which is a steep learning curve.
3. Broadway has always been a dream of mine.
4. I can't even open my eyes underwater.
5. I don't want people to look at me.6. I grew up poor.
7. I don't like the idea that fame could mean that people can no longer relate to me.
8. 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.
9. I have problems because I'm very expressive, and usually red lipstick gets on my teeth and face.10. 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?"
11. I love being around great actors and film-makers, and I try to hide the fact that I'm in awe of them.
12. I think that with any emotion - fear, love, nervousness - if the actor's feeling it, then the audience feels it.13. 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.
14. I try not to fake anything.
15. I'm such a geek.16. 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.
17. I'm inspired by people who are so sensitive and vulnerable that they try to cover it up.
18. I'm the first person in my family to go to college.
19. I'm the unknown everyone's already sick of.20. I'm used to working really hard to get a role. I was always auditioning and talking my way into roles.
21. I've had to learn how to say "no" to offers.
22. 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.
23. 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.24. I've spent my life being embarrassed.
25. I've never been in New York for the whole time of Fashion Week.
26. It takes me a long time to make a big purchase.
27. 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.28. 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.
29. 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.
30. Whatever anyone says, I think the opposite will happen.31. 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.
32. 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.33. I was a difficult child because I wanted to be the mom.
34. I don't look modern. I'm not the girl that would walk into the room and everyone goes: "Oh!"
35. (on being directed by Terrence Malick in "The Tree of Life") I would have pages of what we were going to convey, but I could say the words in any order I wanted, and sometimes we would say the same thing in many different ways…I think he will always be the greatest teacher I know. I'm trying, in the Terrence Malick kind of way of not planning and just allowing life to happen, trying to find these moments that mirror life and (are) not preconceived in any way. So that has changed me. I try to keep that freshness in things we've done.
36. (on rehearsals) They'll say: "Save it, save it". I tell them: "Don't worry. I have a bottomless well of tears."
38. I get embarrassed really easily. I get embarrassed even when people sing me "Happy Birthday."
40. I don't normally get into this, but I'm a vegan. And I try not to, well, I don't want to torture anything. I guess it's about trying to live a life where I'm not contributing to the cruelty in the world…While I am on this planet, I want everyone I meet to know that I am grateful they are here.41. When I first moved to LA, it was very difficult. All the casting directors didn't know what to do with me, with the way I looked. I'm not blonde with tanned skin and tall and skinny. I looked very different - and they said I looked like I was from another time.
42. Right after "The Tree of Life" came out, I started hearing about strategies for my career. And I made a decision that I wasn't going to do anything based on a strategy. If I don't continue to challenge myself and risk failure, I have no business being an actor. I'm not an actor to be a personality. I want to see every part I take like a master class. And you know what? I'm going to fail sometimes. And that's OK. Because when you fail, you learn more.43. I don't talk about my dating life. But I will say this: in this business it's very tough to maintain a relationship because we're like gypsies - always on the move. And the more you share your relationship with the world the less special it becomes. So I always try to keep my dating life quiet.44. It took me four hours to read the script for "The Tree of Life" because it's so dense and beautiful, and I feel it should be published, and I hope it is someday because it's really gorgeous. I knew from the script that it was going to be a really special film, and it was going to be unlike anything probably I'll ever make. It's like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that changes the structure of filmmaking. I didn't know how he was gonna do it, but I knew, because it was Terrence Malick, he was gonna do it and he did.
49. I was the girl who cut school to go to the park, and the other kids would be smoking and drinking and I'd be reading Shakespeare.
50. I walk the dogs, I play the ukulele, I cook. I'm not a girl who goes to big parties - I'm shy.
51. I was always a little awkward, a redhead, and very freckly. Kids like to make fun of people who are different. I had short red hair and wore workout boots, so I got teased really badly for having red hair and being different.
53. (on doing her first animated movie, "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted") The first day I thought: "No cameras, that's fine, I'll wear sweats, no make-up", and I showed up and I was doing the voice, and I looked up and saw all the cameras and I realized: "Oh my gosh, they're videotaping this." And then of course the next day I turned up, I was in, like, full hair and make-up.
54. I think a film should be judged on the film and not on the sex of the person who directed the film.
55. I'm very private. We've never seen a picture of me with a beau. For me, it's about the work. I have no personal life!56. (on what she used her paycheck on from "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted") There was a couch I wanted to buy and I had no time in my schedule to do another film. I was doing so much press last year, thinking: "How am I going to pay my rent?" Also, I had to buy a new couch. My agent said: "I don't know if you're interested, but they're having auditions for an animated film." I've always wanted to do an animated film. So I went in and auditioned and then I got the call that I got the part. And I got the couch!
61. (on losing out on an Oscar to costar Octavia Spencer) Octavia Spencer was a great teacher for me. I went to Juilliard and studied Shakespeare and Chekov and Ibsen and all the heavies, so to be able to do comedy was such a dream. That woman's timing is so great. As soon as I met her I knew we had great chemistry together - she was a fantastic teacher.62. Sorry to say that "Iron Man 3" isn't going to work out. My schedule is jam packed and I can't fit anything else in. The press announced my possible attachment far too soon. I know many of you wanted me to be involved, and I'm so sorry to disappoint you. Hopefully there'll be another Marvel film in my future. Shane Black and everyone on the Iron Man team are really wonderful. I'm very excited to see the film when it comes out.
65. Isabelle Huppert is for me the greatest actress in the world. She always plays very bold characters, very daring women. She always challenges herself, working with directors from other countries, she's never lazy.
67. I have a rule not to date actors and because of that I can hopefully make work be the focus of public interest instead of my private life.
68. I got teased quite a lot when I was younger but I've grown into my red hair now and see it as something that makes me unique and special.
71. I love being around great actors and film-makers, and I try to hide the fact that I'm in awe of them. I try to pretend with Al Pacino or Helen Mirren that, you know, we're just part of the same team, we're all in this together, but really, secretly, the whole time my heart is beating very fast.
75. I have always known I wanted to be an actress, but my New York experience made me realize that my desire had nothing to do with becoming famous or making money, I was interested in exploring the human soul, its complexity, I wanted to work to understand something about life and myself. Being an actress means being in another person's shoes and therefore understanding what the person whose role you play feels; but also connecting with other human beings, as a mark of profound professional intimacy, that often touches the soul.
77. I don't read reviews because if you believe a good review, then you have to believe a bad review.78. (on her scenes being cut from "To the Wonder") Just as I suspected, my small role has not made it into the final version. But I really didn't imagine it would. The three days I shot were with Ben Affleck and he was doing really great stuff. I'm looking forward to see how it all brilliantly comes together.79. (on doing the scary scenes for "Mama") I've done an experiment, and it's working for me. I heard Johnny Depp has an earwig (headphones), and sometimes he listens to music during a scene. So I asked the director if I could wear one for all of my scary scenes and have them play this really terrifying music in my ear. That's how it's gonna be in the scene anyway, right?
80. (on why she doesn't reveal her age) I never say. Clearly, I'm not 15. But I like mystery.
81. There's nothing about me that makes you think: "movie star". I'm just this normal girl.
83. Terrence Malick is probably one of the greatest teachers I'll ever know. A great teacher for filmmaking, for acting, but also and mostly, a great teacher of what it is to be a great human being. I value him so much.
84. Whenever I approach a role, I'm the girl who will sit in my house for a month and just watch as much as I can on the time period.
86. I'm not going out to night clubs and dancing with other actors, I'm not having lunch at The Ivy.87. I never get recognized. I think because, in my most successful film ("The Help"), I look very different. But, you know, if someone does happen to recognize me, they're usually sweet, and it's never a negative experience. My favorite thing is if I'm going out to buy something embarrassing, I always think: "Oh God, I hope no one sees me buy this!" However, for the most part, it's been fine.
88. It wasn't like I wanted to be an actor. It was more like I am that. This is my job. It was so clear cut, I never had to make a choice.
89. It's tough, acting. You have to walk two lines of a tightrope. There's the all-consuming fear of failure: I'm about to fall flat on my face. There's that and there's also confidence - you have to be confident in order to try things - and they fight each other all the time.
91. Before coming to New York, I had never had the possibility to come close to creativity of that kind. No one in my family had ever had anything to do with that environment, therefore at my audition at the Juilliard I risked a lot, especially on an emotional level. When they accepted me I found myself in another world.92. I always felt before I had to prove myself. I would show up on a set and people would have heard about me but they wouldn't have seen my work. It was like they were watching me out of the corner of their eye saying: "Who is this girl?"
93. I like art, and fashion to me is art, so I will continue wearing things that I think are beautiful pieces and probably will get people talking.
95. The most important thing in my life, and the thing I try to focus on, is to try not to live a life of cruelty. That means trying to make sure I look people in the eye when I meet them. Sometimes you jump in a taxi, or maybe you only have two minutes with someone, and you never see them again. I try to always look them in the eye and have a real experience of what it is to communicate with someone.
96. I've always made really strange choices, maybe because no one told me otherwise.
98. They talk about a curse with awards. Sometimes people win then bad things happen. I just want to act. And I don't want anything bad to happen to me.
100. I love to disappear into roles and play different characters. And I think I'm getting great films now because I'm not conventionally beautiful.
101. (on her fighting scenes for "The Debt") I trained for months. I had no idea how to throw a punch; I'd never been in a fight in my life. But considering I'm a pacifist, I enjoyed it. Krav Maga is how to kill your opponent in the least time possible. It's ruthless and made me feel bad ass. I'd say to my friend: "Come at me!" I'd take her down and pin her and she'd say: "OK, enough. I'm excited for you to finish this movie!"
105. As a little girl, playing games, I would absolutely believe I was a princess. If we were pretending there was a monster in the closet, I would be terrified. When I realized there was a job where you could play all day and get paid for it, I said: "That's my job". I am OK doing off-Broadway for $400 a week, because it's about doing what I love.
108. I'm always going to do both theater and film, always. I love theater and I love the ensemble feeling of it. I love the community. I love being in New York. I love the idea of finishing a show and then seeing people from other shows and then all leaving for a late night dinner.
112. As an actor, you approach the characters from what the script tells you. You don't think about: "Well, what do I look like compared to what she looks like?"113. I'm not going to be the girl with the private yoga instructor at my house.
114. Every character I play I feel is like a woman I got to meet and learn from getting to hang out with. I see them as their own people. So I think I take something away from everything.
115. (when asked what she wants women and men to admire in her) I would like women to admire my differences. don't look like a top model, I'm different: if they would admire this in me, probably they'd feel more comfortable with themselves as well, with their particular traits which make them unique and beautiful. As for men, I would like them to admire my passion. They love femininity, but if you find a partner who loves you for your strength it's the best.
116. I know people ask why I never am pictured with a man, but my work is being an artist, an actor. It does show, indeed, women don't need a man to define. I define myself.
118. (on adjusting to the costumes in The Heiress) I'm a jeans girl, but a blue-jeans way of moving is very different from wearing petticoats, so from day one, I was wearing the shoes, the skirt, the corset. I never really left the rehearsal room. It took so long to put everything on every day, it's like: "Well, I'll just bring my lunch and eat it here."
119. (on overcoming stage fright) Every night I whisper to myself: "You chose this, Jessica. You chose this. This is what you wanted to do your whole life."
121. I can model for photos, but at events I'm just not a pose-y girl.122. (on her character in "Zero Dark Thirty") You really see the drive and the journey that this woman takes, and you see her unravel.
123. I'm very shy when it comes to guys. I like to be wooed, but I've had to be more outwardly available, I guess.
124. I always find sex scenes embarrassing. But at times they are necessary - I get that. It's a huge compliment when someone says you're attractive, especially when I was such an awkward kid - I was very tomboyish, with very short red hair, running around with cowboy boots on. So when someone tells me I'm a sex symbol I'm like: "what?". But I'll take what I can get. That'll teach all those boys back in junior high. In fact, I hope my very first boyfriend, the guy I dated for one month and who broke up with me at the Valentine's Day Dance - I hope that boy reads this article.
125. When I leave a film, there's this sadness that I'm not gonna know this person anymore.
127. "Zero Dark Thirty" will make news. We all think we know how it ended. We don't. And this movie is about how it really ended. It is shocking. When I first read the script, I was blown away by this woman. The sacrifices she made and what she had to do. It's something I still get very emotional about. What happens when you live for this one goal? And then you achieve it.
129. (on working with Brad Pitt in "The Tree of Life") He didn't have a huge entourage, nothing like that. He just showed up on his motorcycle on the very first day and went: "Hi, I'm Brad." You just heard the rumbling of his bike and he'd appear like James Dean, or Marlon Brando from "The Wild One". He was kind, he was generous, he'd never heard of me but he never made me feel less.
130. I really made an effort to not put myself in situations where my private life becomes more interesting than my work.
134. It's easier to do an action scene than a love scene. I love fighting. When the camera's not rolling, I'll usually punch some of the actors, just for fun.
136. I will never say my age because I'm an actress, and I want to play different ages.
137. I'm not going to lie, being given free clothes is fantastic. I never used to imagine my wedding dress as a little girl, but I'd always imagined my Oscar dress.
140. I have heard things that sometimes people think that I'm boring. And I imagine that probably comes from I don't have a Twitter account where I post pictures of me in a bikini. I don't show a side of my life that, to me, is like for my friends and my family.141. I didn't grow up with a lot of money, and we were evicted a couple times when I was a child. One time, I even came home from school and there was someone locking our doors. And he felt super guilty, and he asked me: "Do you want to go in and grab some things?" So that's happened to me a lot growing up.
142. In the press, I like to be known for my work and not for whom I'm dating or what my favorite ice cream is.143. (on awards season) A strange thing happens this time of year. It starts to feel like it's a race. Acting is very different than playing tennis. You don't put two people in a room and we match it out. For me, I feel like I've already won. I never want to lose sight of what I feel right now being in this business and being nominated.
144. I don't accept that as an actress I have to play one personality over and over. Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman - all these great actors are allowed to change what they look like. Women in Hollywood? I've noticed they're not.145. If someone tells me "You can't do that", I'm going to try to do it even more. It doesn't mean I'll succeed. But it means I'll fight you.
146. Being on the sidelines for a long time gave me the opportunity to strengthen myself to the idea of what fame is. I've had time to understand the kind of actor I want to be. Personal life. Age. "Who are you dating?" All of those things get in the way of playing characters.
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1. I always say I am a realist, and my mom says: "No, you just have anxiety." 
