Jessica Chastain Quotes

For me, I'm not in an industry where I'm starving. I'm so lucky to have this job, I'm compensated for my work in an incredible way. But what I do ask is when I join a production I want to make sure that the male actor isn't making four times my salary, which has been true, or seven times my salary. And if that's true you go, you know what, I don't need this job. It's not really asking for more - it's asking for something that is respectable and equal to the male actor and you have to go, why are women being valued less?

One comment by a female lobbyist really shocked me. She said, "Washington is a contact sport." I asked, "What do you mean by that?" And she just said, "Well, it's all men - and they're very contact-y. They touch a lot." Women say that's just part of the game.

I think both nature and grace live within everyone, and I always strive to be in a world of grace and compassion.

I find that the monsters are usually the people that I have the most empathy for because they're the ones that are hurt the most. There's a reason why they're the monsters.

I think that with any emotion - fear, love, nervousness - if the actor's feeling it, then the audience feels it.

I didn't understand how much senators and members of the House are not able to represent the people because they're too busy fundraising to maintain their seat in office. I hope we as a country start looking at how we can change that.

I've had to learn how to say 'no' to offers.

I was excited that my films would finally see the light of day and people would see them. But I never imagined that such nice things would be said about a lot of my films.

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'm the unknown everyone's already sick of.

No one ever recognizes me.

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.

It's tough, acting. You have to walk two lines of a tightrope. There's the all-consuming fear of failure: I'm about to fall flat on my face. There's that and there's also confidence - you have to be confident in order to try things - and they fight each other all the time.

I can't even open my eyes underwater.

It's easier to do an action scene than a love scene. I love fighting. When the camera's not rolling, I'll usually punch some of the actors, just for fun.

Robin Williams was the kind of generous person who would do things but not want to receive public credit for it.

Before, it was just about making the films - and now it's releasing them. Which is a steep learning curve.

I love fall because I love the whole cuddling aspect of it, and a sweater dress has that vibe of I'm going to hunker down and be warm, but it's also very feminine.

I don't want people to look at me.

I remember being a teenager and having a boyfriend - this guy I thought I was way better than, and completely out of his league. He was a year younger than me. And he broke up with me. It was so shocking, and I couldn't believe it.

I have a feeling that very soon I'm going to fail very, very big. I'm going to try something and everybody's going to be like, 'What was she thinking?

I try not to fake anything.

I'm very much a hippie from Northern California.

Broadway has always been a dream of mine.

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.

Most of the women I spoke to were pushing agendas that they felt connected to - more so than with the male lobbyists I met with.

Any man that dates me, the thing they're gonna have to live up is my dad - he's a real hero.

Someone doesn't think immediately, "I want to be a lobbyist."

Maybe that's because there are so few women lobbyists; if they're there, it's for something they strongly believe in, not just for financial gain.

We need to reevaluate that women who ask for a pay raise or ask for a promotion - it's actually an okay thing.

I take great responsibility in any character that I play.

The most important thing in my life, and the thing I try to focus on, is to try not to live a life of cruelty. That means trying to make sure I look people in the eye when I meet them. Sometimes you jump in a taxi, or maybe you only have two minutes with someone, and you never see them again. I try to always look them in the eye and have a real experience of what it is to communicate with someone.

I don't really drink, and I've never been to a rave. I used to cut school to read Shakespeare, not to make out in the park.

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.

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.

Everything that we criticize young actresses for, they're supposed to do because that's when we're supposed to make mistakes. And find out who we are.

Look at Hispanic women - they are being paid 42 cents on the dollar - or African-American women. I think it's an issue we have to look at across the board.

Women perform great in the box office. Audiences want to see lead female characters.

I feel very inspired right now because I know there are a lot of people out there who are really scared but I feel this great sense of togetherness and people coming together and saying, "I got your back."

It's okay to be ambitious, it's okay to be over-prepared.

I just want to do what I feel is right in my heart.

I don’t mind if the character is a small character, but I would just like her to have a journey in the film. Sometimes the characters are just there as a prop to further the man’s story. The great directors I’ve talked to, I’ve said listen, I don’t mind playing a woman that is a tiny part, but how does the story affect her? What can I play in the end that’s different from the beginning? Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense, because it’s just like being a prop.

I'm inspired by people who are so sensitive and vulnerable that they try to cover it up.

My grandmother used to say, "Sometimes the loudest person in the room doesn't know what they're talking about." Or isn't secure enough in his or her own views to be able to listen to others.

I am the first one in my family to go to college and I felt a great responsibility when I was at school, because my family was making so many sacrifices for me to be there. I was raised by a single mother, my grandmother got on the plane and helped me move to New York and moved me into the dorm. It was just a big moment, and, yes, it was my dream to be an actress, but also I didn't want to let them down.

We need more points of view from women and we need more support for female directors and writers in the industry.

Whatever anyone says, I think the opposite will happen.

I'm going to ask what is correct, what I deserve, especially in relation to male actors.