It has been quite a time for Jessica Chastain. In 2022 she won an Oscar and SAG award for Best Actress in The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Earlier this year she won a second consecutive SAG Award for her role as a different Tammy, that being country superstar Tammy Wynette in Showtime’s limited series George and Tammy, and has also generated considerable Emmy buzz for it. Also this year she has been starring on Broadway for the first time in more than a decade as Nora in a new production of A Doll’s House, which will close on Saturday. On Sunday, she will be present as one of the nominees for a Tony Award as Lead Actress in a play. Not bad, eh?
It is certainly no surprise as Chastain has become one of the leading actors of her generation, particularly in movies like Zero Dark Thirty and The Help, which both won her Oscar nominations, as well as Jolene, The Tree of Life, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, Molly’s Game, Wilde Salome, and more recently The Good Nurse. On TV last season she was also starring in the acclaimed HBO limited series adaptation of Scenes From a Marriage.
Chastain has not only made her mark as an actor but also as a producer, spending 10 years in an effort to bring her passion project and eventual multiple Oscar winner Eyes of Tammy Faye to the big screen, and similarly behind the scenes as producer of the aforementioned George and Tammy in which she co-stars with Michael Shannon.
Jessica Chastain, ‘A Doll’s House’
Courtesy of A Doll’s House
In a special edition of my Deadline video series Behind the Lens, Chastain joins me from our studio in New York City, where she has been performing eight times a week on stage, to talk about all of this success from movies to television to Broadway. In particular we discuss the challenges of playing someone so well known as Wynette, and that includes doing her own singing in the role — and doing it live to boot. We also talk about what that Oscar meant to her, how she is processing her return to the stage after all this time as well as anticipation for Sunday’s Tonys. Another strong of aspect of her career is also discussed: female empowerment, and how as a producer she is making sure women are getting their due both in front of and behind the lens.
To watch our conversation just click on the video above.
Join me every Friday and Monday during Emmy season for a new edition of Behind the Lens.
