Women can be powerful, graceful, and complex, with the ability to make any choice they desire.
Jessica Chastain
I can't even open my eyes underwater.
We need to understand that femininity is not weakness. And our society, for some reason, equates the two.
I'm either thought of as ethereal or fiery. And maybe that's the interesting thing about red hair: there's that fiery Renaissance connotation and the ethereal.
I have problems because I'm very expressive, and usually red lipstick gets on my teeth and face.
When I first moved to Los Angeles, I don't think anyone knew what to do with me.
I'm inspired by people who are so sensitive and vulnerable that they try to cover it up.
I don't want people to look at me.
I actually chose to do 'X-Men' because I'm working with Simon Kinberg, who's also a first-time filmmaker who I met on 'The Martian' and is an incredible writer and producer.
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.
I've spent my life being embarrassed.
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.
I take great responsibility in any character that I play.
Some people think I've had a nose job. I've never had anything like that done, but I have no judgement of anyone that does.
This is what the media does with women. You try to divide and conquer women so you can intimidate and victimise them. This is why they don't make movies where a lot of women get to be on set together. It's about dividing.
I never heard in my entire life that a man was overprepared for anything. I am overprepared in my life. What's wrong with being ambitious, being overprepared, being one step ahead?
Making films can be very lonely, and that's the part I don't like. I don't want to feel like I'm pressing 'pause' on my personal life to make a movie. I want to feel like I'm still creating relationships and things are moving forward.
The great thing about modern feminism is that women can define what it means to them: it can mean being ambitious, it can mean being emotional, it can mean being sensitive and compassionate and also a leader. It can mean all those things.
The power of 'no' means you're educating people in how to treat you.
I sometimes go to a movie and eat my popcorn and turn my brain off. I love those movies. But the movies I like to be in, for the most part, are the ones that challenge you.
There I was at 'The Tree of Life' premiere, holding hands with Sean Penn and Brad Pitt. That walk down the red carpet was a real rite of passage for me. Suddenly, journalists began asking, 'Who's this actress?'
When you take away healthcare from women, you're keeping women out of the workforce because you're eliminating their choice of when to start a family.
I'm the unknown everyone's already sick of.
Everyone has to learn how to live in an environment that has not made it easy for women to claim their place, so I think it's all women's responsibility to step forward.
I was a dramatic kid. I remember, I was very young, and once I knew what I wanted to do I, like, created a theater company, and I would direct, and we would sell lemonade to buy props.
My whole life, I wanted to be an actor. Perhaps the seed was planted when I saw Sigourney Weaver in 'Alien', wiping the floor with the men on the ship.
Green tea throughout the day is the healthiest thing I've discovered for me.
I went to public school, and I didn't do well in school. And it wasn't until, actually, I got into school at Juilliard - it was the first time in my life that I thought, 'Oh, maybe I'm not stupid,' because I was so inspired and passionate about what I was learning, and it was the first time in my life I had felt that.
When I get a script that has the opportunity to create discussion and inspire young girls, I don't want to say no to that... I just want to contribute.
I'm a true believer that you get out of something what you put into it.
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.
I struggled for so long to try to create a career.
Being a woman has always been a powerful thing, where history has sometimes dictated otherwise, but I believe that a woman can be compassionate, sensitive, soft, kind.
I like characters and stories that challenge the status quo. Lately, I'm really interested in history because I find that in my public school education, I didn't learn about women in history. I want to introduce the world to some great stories and incredible heroes.
Only a woman can tell you what it's like to be a woman in a society where men are in charge. When you have one demographic that controls the livelihood of minorities, then you're always going to have abuses of power. So this goes way beyond Hollywood.
I always say I am a realist, and my mom says, 'No, you just have anxiety.'
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.
If I were Elizabeth Sloane, I wouldn't be wearing makeup. I'd just be focused on getting the job done.
I think that with any emotion - fear, love, nervousness - if the actor's feeling it, then the audience feels it.
Before, it was just about making the films - and now it's releasing them. Which is a steep learning curve.
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.
Whatever anyone says, I think the opposite will happen.
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.
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.
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.
I try not to fake anything.
I'm the first person in my family to go to college.
Broadway has always been a dream of mine.
I've had to learn how to say 'no' to offers.
I'm used to working really hard to get a role. I was always auditioning and talking my way into roles.
