'I Was A Dramatic Kid': For Jessica Chastain, Acting Came Naturally
On the moment she knew she wanted to act
It really was such a natural thing that happened. My grandmother took me to a play and ... there was a little girl on stage. And as soon as I saw her on stage, I thought, "This is my job." ... I was probably like 7 or 8. I was very young. ... It was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
On having her own "theater company" as a kid
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. I was, like, 10 years old, and I had my own theater company, [a] cul-de-sac theater company. ...
It was such an outlet 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.
“ "I'm the first person in my family to go to college. My grandmother was helping me financially. It was a really big deal that I was there. And the idea that they would've sent me home was incredibly traumatic."
- Jessica Chastain on her first year at Juilliard
On her first year at Juilliard
It was very scary for me. My grandmother came with me when I moved out to New York. She stayed with me for a week. I was, you know, living in the dorm. The first year I had a lot of anxiety and, I remember, my teachers kept saying I had so much jaw tension. Like I couldn't even — you know, when taking voice and speech classes — I could hardly open my mouth I was so terrified.
On how she got rid of the jaw tension
I went to a doctor, and, of course, got a mouth guard at night, so I didn't get rid of all of my teeth. And every night, usually, I would just get like a hot towel and put it on my face. ... I think more than anything like that, what worked is just getting some confidence. Juilliard when I was there — I don't know if they still have it — but they had a probation and a cut program. And I'm the first person in my family to go to college. My grandmother was helping me financially. It was a really big deal that I was there. And the idea that they would've sent me home was incredibly traumatic. But I had to start to feel like, "OK, I belong here. It's all right. They're not going to send me away."
On her grandmother
She's very, very important to me. I've taken her to the Oscars both years. She's really a special lady and has helped me in more ways than I could ever explain.