Jessica Chastain used to worry about being ‘thrown out of the film industry’

Jessica Chastain has spoken about the nerves she felt earlier on in her career and said she wondered if she would get “thrown out of the industry”.

Speaking at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Oscar-winning actress, known for her roles in The Help and The Eyes Of Tammy Faye, said she felt  “so scared and so nervous” when she attended the annual event in 2011.

Chastain, 47, stars in the forthcoming drama Dreams, about a young ballet dancer from Mexico, played by Isaac Hernandez, who narrowly escapes death while crossing the border to be with his lover Jennifer, played by Chastain.

Discussing the film at a press conference, Chastain said: “It’s undeniably political because it really does delve into the relationship between America and Mexico.

“Michel (Franco’s) work, I think the reason I respond to it is because he provokes and he delves into issues that a lot of filmmakers wouldn’t want to explore.

“He doesn’t say what’s right and wrong, but what he does is he provokes thought and discussion.”

She continued: “I mean, I think it’s incredibly political, also because of what’s happening right now in the United States, but not just the United States, all over the world.”

Chastain said she found her character “interesting” as she “couldn’t filter her through the lens of my own moral beliefs or political views”.

On female roles in the industry, she added: “For years, I’ve advocated for really complex female roles, because for years, especially in the United States, female characters really were just like the supporting wife or, almost like a martyr or a saint.

“And I’ve kind of made it my desire to play characters who make a lot of mistakes, make a lot of missteps.

“I don’t care if they’re likeable or palatable, but I want people to talk about it, and I want it to feel real and human.

“And we’re all capable of so many things, great, healthy, wonderful, beautiful things and horrible, destructive behaviour.

“So I loved that Michel, with these characters, he didn’t make anyone a saint. He made them human.”

Asked about Hollywood and how she has changed, she said: “I think when I started in the industry, it’s quite different how I navigate myself now, because I have my own production company.

“I’m very involved with the collaborations and the filmmakers that I want to work with and the stories that I want to amplify.

“I feel like I have a lot of, I don’t want to say control, but I do feel like I have agency in the stories that I choose to tell and I don’t feel like I need to please anyone.

“I mean, I prefer not to please anyone because I think it’s more exciting and more interesting.

“So I’m definitely more rebellious than I was in the very beginning.

“When I was here 14 years ago, I was so scared and so nervous and wondering if people would like me, or if I’d get thrown out of the industry, and now I’m just kind of like, I’m just going to do what I want, and maybe I’ll make people mad, and maybe it’s great if I make people mad, my characters do anyway.

“I’m much happier now.”