With an impeccable career and dozens of acclaimed performances, Jessica Chastain is one of the industry's artists who has become the epitome of acting excellence. And, although her passion for the artistic world was sparked at a very young age, she had to work very hard for many years to reach the position she holds today among the best contemporary actors. Chastain made her first steps in the industry on stage, starring in a production of Romeo and Juliet at The Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts in California. Her role in that play led her to audition for the prestigious Juilliard School, where she was able to study under a scholarship granted by the late actor Robin Williams.
After graduating, she started auditioning for roles in shows and movies, and in 2004 she landed her first TV role as part of Dark Shadows, a soap opera that never aired. That same year, the actress played a small role in an episode of ER, kicking off her television career while continuing her path in theater. Her film debut arrived in 2008, when she starred in Dan Ireland's film Jolene, a role that made her increasingly visible in the industry. However, her career took the definitive leap to stardom in 2011, a year in which she starred in some of the most popular productions of her career, such as The Help, Take Shelter, and The Tree of Life.
Over the years, Chastain has been involved in projects across all genres, playing the most diverse characters with a unique ability to captivate audiences that made her a force to be reckoned with. Her versatility and on-screen magnetism have earned her a plethora of nominations and awards, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Actress. Not only that, but in 2016, she took the leap and embarked on a career in production, founding her company Freckle Films, led by an all-women team. To this day, she continues to amaze with her performances and stirs up buzz for her upcoming projects. Here is a look back at the best films of her career so far.
10 The Help
The Help is one of the most acclaimed films in Chastain's career, and the one that earned her, her only nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards as Celia Rae Foote. However, this film by Tate Taylor, which was extremely successful at the time of its release, has been reviewed from other points of view over the years, with some cast members speaking out against it for its misguided portrayal of racial inequality and discrimination.
This 2011 production stars Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Octavia Spencer, among other actresses, and follows Skeeter (Stone), an aspiring journalist who attempts to start her career by writing a book on the experience of Black housemaids at the time, and the discrimination to which they were subjected. In addition to its wide acclaim, The Help became a box-office hit, grossing $216 million worldwide.
9 Miss Sloane
The 2016 film Miss Sloane earned rave reviews, especially regarding Chastain's performance as the lead actress. However, it performed poorly at the box-office, and failed to reap anywhere near the money invested in it. This John Madden film features Elizabeth Sloane, a lobbyist with a formidable reputation coveted in the political and business world for her shrewdness and dedication to her clients. However, when faced with the most powerful opponent of her career, she realizes that sometimes victory comes at too high a price. Joining Chastain in this production are Mark Strong, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alison Pill and Sam Waterston.
8 Interstellar
Christopher Nolan's Interstellar was released in 2014 and quickly became one of the best science fiction productions in history, with particular acclaim not only for its performances and direction, but also for its accuracy. It stars industry superstars in a cast led by Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, and Michael Caine.
Interstellar is set in a dystopian future in which the planet is becoming inhabitable, so a group of astronauts must set out on a mission across the galaxy to find a suitable place to become humankind's new home. In this award-winning production, Chastain plays Murph, the main character's daughter who grows up to become a NASA scientist as she follows in her father's footsteps.
7 The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby
With impeccable lead performances by James McAvoy and Chastain, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby is a three-part film by Ned Benson that explores the different perspectives of Conor and Eleanor's relationship, a married couple in New York City who seek to regain the love they once had for one another. The story is divided into three parts set in the same time window, Him, Her, and Them, all from different points of view that provide insight into the relationship. Joining the lead actors in this acclaimed 2014 production are Viola Davis, Bill Hader, Katherine Waterston, and William Hurt.
6 Molly's Game
The 2017 film Molly's Game marked Aaron Sorking's directorial debut, who also served as writer and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. This production is inspired by the life story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic skier who was forced to abandon her career following a severe injury that knocked her out of the 2002 Olympics. Devastated at the thought of failing to fulfill her dream, Molly decides to turn her life around and starts running an underground poker empire that eventually puts her in the FBI's crosshairs.
Chastain stars in this production alongside Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera and Jeremy Strong, among many other actors. Chastain and Elba's performances were particularly praised, with the former earning a Best Actress nomination at the Golden Globe Awards.
5 Take Shelter
In the 2011 film Take Shelter, Michael Shannon plays Curtis, a family man leading a quiet life with his wife and daughter in Ohio. However, his peaceful existence is put to the test when he starts being haunted by visions and dreams that foretell an apocalyptic disaster. Terrified and in an attempt to ensure his family's survival, he sets out to build a shelter in his backyard with loaned money, which eventually wreaks havoc on his marriage and turns his old life upside down.
This production was written and directed by Jeff Nichols, and, for it, he won a Saturn Award for Best Writing. Chastain stars alongside Shannon as his character's wife, a role that launched her to stardom and earned her several nominations as Best Supporting Actress.
4 A Most Violent Year
A Most Violent Year is a 2014 crime film written, directed and co-produced by J. C. Chandor. It stars Oscar Isaac and Chastain in roles that earned them great acclaim, and in Chastain's case, a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The film follows Abel, an immigrant who leads a fuel supply business that he has built up with great discipline. But when corruption and other people's misdeeds threaten to destroy his company, he has no other choice but to sacrifice his morality and engage in a no-holds-barred war to protect his business and his family's future.
A Most Violent Year faced a similar situation to Miss Sloane, with excellent reviews but a very poor performance at the box-office. Joining the lead actors in this production are David Oyelowo, Alessandro Nivola, Albert Brooks, and Robert Clohessy.
3 The Tree of Life
The Tree of Life was one of the films that helped Chastain rise to fame back in 2011. In this production, written and directed by Terrence Malick, she co-stars alongside Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, with Laramie Eppler, Tye Sheridan, and Kari Matchett joining them in the cast. The Tree of Life takes an exploratory look at the meaning of life through the lens of Jack, a man who recalls his childhood in Texas, the relationship with his mother and father and the influence they had on him over the years.
This experimental production became, for many, one of the best films in history, and earned many accolades. Among them, it was nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography. For her role as Mrs. O'Brien, Chastain won a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress.
2 The Eyes of Tammy Faye
The Eyes of Tammy Faye is one of the most important films in Chastain's career, as it was the film that earned her, her first Academy Award for Best Actress. Directed by Michael Showalter and produced by Chastain via Freckle Films, this 2021 film draws on the 2000 documentary of the same name to introduce the story of Tammy Faye, the televangelist that, in the 1970s, created an empire made up of the world's largest religious broadcasting network and a theme park. The production follows Faye from her origins to the peak of her career, followed by the debts and scandals that ruined her prolific enterprise.
Andrew Garfield joins Chastain as Jim Bakker, Faye's husband, and the cast is rounded out by Cherry Jones, Vincent D'Onofrio, Mark Wystrach, and Sam Jaeger. While the film was not as well received as the original documentary, the cast's performances and Chastain's in particular were widely acclaimed.
1 Zero Dark Thirty
Zero Dark Thirty is a 2012 film that earned Chastain her first Best Actress nomination at the Academy Awards, as well as her first, and so far only, Golden Globe Award. This production dramatizes the worldwide hunt for terrorist leader Osama bin Laden following the September 11 attacks, featuring Maya, a CIA intelligence analyst who will prove vital to the operation.
Chastain plays the lead role in this production joined by Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Reda Kateb, Mark Strong and James Gandolfini. This film, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, was critically acclaimed and became a worldwide box-office hit. Among its many accolades, Zero Dark Thirty received five Academy Award nominations and won the award for Best Sound Editing in a tie with the movie Skyfall.
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