Actress Jessica Chastain is known for her powerful roles in films such as Molly’s Game, Zero Dark Thirty, and The Eyes of Tammy Faye. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the latter and has been nominated for the award thrice. She has also been nominated for a Golden Globe eight times, winning once for Zero Dark Thirty.

The actress has been vocal about her stance on the treatment of female actors in Hollywood. She was reportedly annoyed when reports indicated that she had a professional rivalry with fellow actress Jennifer Lawrence when both were nominated for an Oscar in 2013.

Jessica Chastain’s Stint At The Oscars

Ever since her feature film debut in the indie drama Jolene, Jessica Chastain has gravitated towards strong female roles. After appearing in a number of shows and films, Chastain got her big break in the year 2011, when she starred in six films which included Terrence Mallick’s The Tree of Life, Jeff Nichols’ Take Shelter, and the period-drama The Help.

Chastain’s first stint at the Oscars came in the form of her supporting role in the film The Help, in which she starred along with prominent actresses such as Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and Bryce Dallas Howard. Chastain was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress category along with co-star Octavia Spencer. Chastain lost out to Spencer, who was nominated for the same film.

Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty

After her glorious year at the cinemas, Jessica Chastain starred in films such as Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, Lawless, and Zero Dark Thirty. Chastain played the role of a CIA Intelligence analyst during the manhunt for wanted terrorist Osama Bin Laden in Zero Dark Thirty. Her role as Maya won her many accolades including a Golden Globe for Best Actress.

The film was nominated for the Oscars that year for many categories, including Best Actress for Chastain, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture, among others. While Chastain did not win the award, the film won for Best Sound Editing. Jessica Chastain would eventually win the coveted award in 2021 for her role as the televangelist Tammy Faye Baker in the film The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

Jessica Chastain Was Tired Of Her Alleged Rivalry With Jennifer Lawrence

Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence

At the 85th Academy Awards, Jessica Chastain was nominated in the Best Actress category for her role as Maya in Zero Dark Thirty. It was her first Oscar nomination in the category. Her competition was Jennifer Lawrence who was nominated for her role in David O Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook.

As mentioned before Chastain did not win that year at the Oscars and the award eventually went to Lawrence, who became the second-youngest winner in history to win Best Actress. Her role as Tiffany Maxwell in the dark comedy was universally acclaimed and propelled her to international stardom.

Years later, Chastain expressed her annoyance at the way the media portrayed her feelings about the Oscar snub and how they pitted her against Lawrence just because they were nominated in the same category. She said in an interview with The Guardian,
“I remember reading this article that talked about the ‘fight’ between me and Jennifer Lawrence, how we were rivals because we were up for the same Oscar. They never say that when men are nominated in a category. So I went on my Facebook and said it wasn’t true, because I thought, I’m not standing for this anymore; because that being out there tells women that other women are not supportive.”
She also mentioned how the media keeps pitting women against each other and how they fail to understand that more such accolades would mean more opportunities for women as a whole in the industry.

Source: The Guardian