There was a producer on a film that there had been allegations against
and I went and I talked to the studio.
It's very, very important to me that I practise what I preach.
Jessica Chastain it's lovely to meet you.
Nice to meet you, thank you very much.
So before we talk about Molly's Game, I did just want to ask you about your time at Juilliard.
So I understand that when you auditioned for Juilliard there was a bit of a process.
You performed Juliette from 'Romeo and Juliette.
The word's you've used to describe it are, you made a bold creative choice.
What did you do that left the judges so stunned?
Well I did the piece from Juliette
and it's basically, it's right after she's been married to Romeo and she's saying
"Take the sun and make the sun set so the moon will rise.
Because once the moon is here Romeo will arrive at my window."
And basically she'll have sex and she'll be a woman.
And in the past I had seen it performed in ways that were very proper and Shakespearian.
And I thought, "Okay, what if actually I do it as a 14 year old girl that's very anxious to become a woman?"
And so I was thrashing around all over the ground, and he looked at me and I was like sitting on the ground
and I looked up and them, and he said "Did you have fun, Jessica?"
And I said, "Yes?" And he said, "Well okay thank you so much."
And I was like, okay. And I realised that it was either really good or really bad.
Donnie Silverman, my brilliant find. He lost $6 million on my table.
Molly, stop. Stop!
Moved to Florida, got a job as a substitute teacher, then hanged himself in his shower.
Oh, and that's your fault? That's not your fault!
Donnie Silverman is dead. Harlan Euston's in jail in Nevada wishing he was.
But that's not why I'm saying no.
You're not saying no.
With Molly's Game, it's not the first time you've played a real person, obviously
but where do you draw the line between, when you want to do the real person
and you want to create something for yourself, something you can get inside the skin of?
That's an interesting question, I mean I think even when I play a fictional character
I always base a character that I'm playing off of something else.
Sometimes it's reality television characters.
I'm going to need to know, what reality television characters can we see in your -
A Most Violent Year was a lot, Anna Morales was based on I think the Real Housewives of New Jersey.
Oh yeah, I can see that. The big coat, the big hair.
But also a lot of the mannerisms kind of came from that.
Are you delusional?
You're going to protect yourself with this? You know who uses guns like these?
Whores!
And so everything I'm working on, I usually have, what am I basing this character off of?
So I know I'm not going to play myself over and over again.
Is it true that you do the thing where you go through the script
and every time a character says something about themselves, you write it down?
And every time somebody says something about that character, you write it down?
Yeah, on two separate lists.
Why are they separate?
Well I like complexity in a character, I like opposites.
Like a character like Ceila Foote.
I'm Ceila Rae Foote.
You scared the daylights outta me!
She's so sweet, and she's so vulnerable and then she's really steely.
Like when she's talking to Minnie about how you grab a frying pan and you hit him in the head.
Like, she's really strong at the same time.
And then I'd tell him to go straight to hell.
Then you can't say, oh she's just a sweetie pie. Or she's steely in her resolve.
And I think when you make those two lists, then you can also find out well, what are the opposites?
Like maybe who I'm playing feels one way about herself
that the people around her, that they don't see that represented.
Great.
We're having an incredible moment in the entertainment industry
where sexual harassment and misogyny is being exposed
and it's being talked about in a way that never has been before.
I'm wondering when you make choices about who you choose to work with
and projects you choose to engage in
how much of it is a consideration for you when allegations come up from various different people
when you see stories in the news, and you're like well that's it, we're never working with that person.
Is there a philosophy I guess how you're making choices right now?
I've always made choices in all of the work that I've done to make sure that on any film set
that I'm working with people where there isn't a question about whether or not abuse has taken place.
At some point recently, I wasn't aware that there was a producer on a film that
there had been allegations against.
And I went and I talked to the studio, and it's very important to me that I practice what I preach
and my actions follow my words.
So, with that being said, your next film, or one of the next films you're working on is the new X-Men movie
and Brian Singer is still listed as a producer, and there's been pretty ample criticism against him
Does that mean he's there in name only?
I think some interesting information is going to come out soon.
Okay.
Where that may... I mean, I think we'll see.
When I came on to that film, and in no way had, well I'd never met Bryan Singer.
Yeah right.
I've never seen him on set, I mean. We'll see.
Okay, alright.
Let's come back to one of your next projects you're doing with Octavia Spencer
where you guys have gone in together and your salaries will be tied, is my understanding of it.
She's being telling this beautiful story about how you guys had a conversation about
how women of colour earn so much less than white women.
I love that woman because she's walking the walk, and she's talking the talk.
She said, "Octavia, we're gonna get you paid."
What's your recollection of that conversation? How did that conversation even come up?
I think women sometimes feel shame about to admit what your salary is.
I think there's also a misperception you know when people see Hollywood actors and actresses
they hear these stories about so-and-so made this much money
and then they assume everyone in Hollywood makes that.
And when Octavia and I were having a conversation
I was really floored by what her quote had been for so long
especially with the history that she'd had in the industry
and I just realised if we tied our salaries together as a favoured nations deal then it would bring up her quote.
And then each film, that would be her new quote.
It was a very easy thing to do, I think it's something that men should
you know it would be wonderful if men started doing that.
Men who believed in wage equality with their female co-stars.
I will say, this was not a story that I intended to be out in the media.
In fact, after Octavia...
It did feel like a thing that wasn't meant to go public when she said it.
Yeah, you know she's so sweet and I love her so much.
I just want to make sure that too much of the focus isn't on me, it should be on -
The systemic problem.
Exactly. Like she's been underpaid for a long time. Instead of it being "Jessica did this!"
Let's go back and say, if I truly cared about eliminating this discrimination, what can I do to change that?
And tying your salary, and saying we both do the same work, we should have equal salary in this
I think that's a great place to start.
Jessica Chastain, thank you so much for your time, that was a really lovely talking to you.
Congratulations on the movie!
Thank you so much.