{"id":19910,"date":"2013-06-07T14:52:40","date_gmt":"2013-06-07T14:52:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wonderlandmagazine.com\/?p=19910"},"modified":"2013-08-12T16:34:39","modified_gmt":"2013-08-12T16:34:39","slug":"flashback-friday-jessica-chastain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandmagazine.com\/2013\/06\/07\/flashback-friday-jessica-chastain\/","title":{"rendered":"Flashback Friday: Jessica Chastain"},"content":{"rendered":"
Wonderland<\/em> shot Jessica Chastains before she was nabbing Oscar noms and racking up style plaudits, just as her star was on the rise.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n This interview was published in Issue 27 of Wonderland, Sept\/Oct 2011.<\/strong><\/p>\n You know what it\u2019s like with movie stars: no new films for months, then eight come along together. At least that\u2019s how it is for Jessica Chastain, who\u2019s following the London bus theory with her releases; first keep them waiting, then flood the streets.<\/p>\n The 30-year-old redhead, whose captivating looks have been described as \u201cethereal\u201d just about as often as \u201cpre-Raphaelite\u201d, has a film career you wouldn\u2019t believe if it were a movie itself. This Julliard grad has been busy transitioning from the theatre to movies, landing unbelievable roles in a host of diverse, interesting and award-winning projects… with barely anyone having seen them.<\/p>\n At the time of our interview, only Terrence Malick\u2019s The Tree of Life \u2013 in which Brad Pitt played her husband and Sean Penn her son \u2013 has seen the light of day, but among those waiting in the wings are Wilde Salome, in which her director and co-star is Al Pacino; The Wettest County in the World, opposite Shia LaBouf and Tom Hardy; Ralph Fiennes\u2019 directorial debut Coriolanus, also starring Vanessa Redgrave; The Texas Killing Fields, where she\u2019ll be seen alongside Avatar\u2019s Sam Worthington; The Debt with Helen Mirren and Tom Wilkinson; plus the closest thing to a potential blockbuster in The Help, based on Kathryn Stockett\u2019s best-selling novel, all of which will hit cinemas over the next year. Which raises one question: what\u2019s with the hold-up?<\/p>\n \u201cI think what led to it is I tend to respond to material that is perhaps more difficult to put together,\u201d she says from her home in Venice, California. \u201dEither it\u2019s because it’s from classical literature like Wilde Salome and Coriolanus, or from an auteur like Terence Malick, so the subject matter tends to be off. It’s not like mainstream movies.\u201d<\/p>\n Most unusual in a sea of fame-hungry performers, Jessica shuns the spotlight, believing the more famous you are, the more difficult it is to be an actor, anonymity the key to creating a believable character.<\/p>\n \u201cFame isn\u2019t why I became an actor,\u201d she says, believably. \u201cI became an actor because I thrive on the connections I make with people on set. There’s something that happens when I’m acting in a scene with someone else that’s so intimate. It’s indescribable – it’s like this invisible current, and I really feed off it. Everything for me about acting is about connecting to humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n Again this is unusual, in that most actors seemingly prefer to disconnect from humanity, elevating themselves above it all so they no longer have to mingle with the little people.<\/p>\n \u201cNot for me,\u201d Jessica insists. \u201cI have seen when someone has become a successful film actor how society lifts them up and separates them from the group. I’m scared of that happening: if someone takes me out of the group how can I play a regular woman? And how can I meet someone when I’m walking my dog or how do I have a regular conversation at the coffee shop? I don’t want that to go away.\u201d<\/p>\n