Jessica Chastain covers the November issue of Harper’s Bazaar UK. I can’t say I’m wild about the shoot. I’ve complained about Jessica’s styling in magazines before and compared the situation to Christina Hendricks’ editorials – it’s something about pale redheads, I think. Magazines stylists don’t know what to do with them. As for the interview… yeah, I like Chastain a lot and I think she’s an extraordinarily talented actress, but she’s an exceedingly boring interview subject. She’s a workaholic and she guards her personal life fiercely. Which is admirable, but a boring read. You can read Jessica’s Bazaar profile here. Some highlights:
She’s shy: ‘I hate it when people sing “Happy Birthday” to me. Probably there are some people who feel great about themselves and don’t second-guess anything they say or do or wear, but that’s just not me.’
Words of wisdom from Val Kilmer: ‘He said, “The business isn’t unimaginative, they’re anti-imagination… it’s like aggressively choosing not to imagine you as anyone else.”’
She hates not working: Not working felt ‘a little bit like grief ’, she says now, her wide smile fading, ‘and I started to feel really negative about myself, down on who I am, and then I realised it’s because I’ve had so much time away from me that I don’t really know what I like to do anymore. I’m out of it now, but there was this feeling of being sad or depressed… wanting to go to another project’. Like an addiction? ‘Yeah, perhaps it is like that… maybe the [past] three months were my withdrawal!’
She wants to be a mother: ‘I’m talking to a lot of families who are travelling circuses… trying to figure out how that is possible in this business.’ Chastain doesn’t say any of this lightly: she’s clearly giving the matter serious thought, aware of the profound challenges parenthood opens up, and though she feels no societal pressure to settle down, she does feel a self-imposed pressure to be ‘a good mother’. Every child on Earth blames their parents for something, everything, at some point, but she wants to raise her own ‘with the least possibility that that happens’. Her thinking seems so deep, I wonder if this will happen soon. ‘Hopefully. Who knows? I hope so… I know a lot of women who want to be mothers, but, you know…’
The actor’s life: ‘I don’t know what I’d do if I wasn’t acting. It doesn’t mean I have to be in movies or have success… I was an actor in community theatre in northern California and I was very happy. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have this form of expression because it offers me a freedom I don’t have in my personal life. It’s a beautiful prison I’ve created for myself.’
The only part that shocked me was that Jessica was openly talking about how she wants to be a mom. That seems like the kind of thing she would have held closer to the vest, but maybe she talked about in print because it’s genuinely on her mind and she genuinely wants it to happen soon. She’s been with her boyfriend Gian Luca Passi De Preposulo for a little less than two years. I wonder if she wants to make babies with him specifically or if she just wants babies in general. She’s 37 years old now – she used to tell little white lies about her age but she owns up to it at this point.
Photos courtesy of Harper’s Bazaar UK.
What lies did she tell about her age? Only thing I ever heard was that when an interviewer asked her about how old she was, she said that she didn’t want people knowing her age….
Her imdb page, or something of the like said she was born in 1984 for a long time. It was never corrected, while other updates were made. Who knows if she had anything to do with it.
She needs to hurry up. My friend and I both only experienced miscarriages after 36. Fertility is highly variable between women. You don’t know your genes or end date.
So true. But My mother got pregnant with me accidentally when she was 46!
the same thing happened to one of my closest friends! She thought it was menopause but she was preggo! You just never know 🙂
Yeah, but Jessica Chastain is a celebrity with lots of money. If she has fertility issues she has the resources to have fertility treatments, adopt, use donor eggs, a surrogate, etc. If she really wants to have kids she will be able to have them even if it’s 10 years from now.
I think the pictures look good. What do I know. I’m still half asleep.
I agree with her on the working thing. You get into this groove of constant work and just forget what you do in a resting situation. You don’t know what to do with yourself.
I love the Dior in the second pic.
I think they’re beautiful, stunning actually. This time I think they got the styling just right for her.
And I can relate to what she says about working/not working. I haven’t worked since January and I find myself floating in an aimless funk more often than not these days.
i know, right?
the pics are stunning!
who says that fair skinned redheads need to be dressed in purple or similar such.
these colors are just beautiful and both dresses look spectacular on her.
and her hair/makeup is so soft and understated.
love it!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the white dress on her. I spent almost a year unemployed almost a year ago (does this make sense?) and while I enjoyed the time off and the chance to sleep in and really rest – it wasn’t relaxing. I was worried about running out of benefits, making the benefits stretch, wondering if I’d ever get a response to a resume … and wondering what was wrong with me that I was downsized. Ugh. I’d love a do-over knowing that I would find a job.
Just last night I was having this conversation and admitted I am depressed not working. Right now the kiddo is in nursery and I am awaiting police clearance so I can commence working at my new job. That being said? On my second week of not working (I count being a SAHM as the hardest job I’ve ever done) and I am bored and floundering a little bit. My husband said to enjoy it, but it is a little bit like grief.
Yeah, I think the pictures are pretty too.
Yeah, that Dior is gorgeous.
I am so loving that Dior. Just… wow.
Don’t care about her age, how boring her interviews are or are not etc etc. She’s firmly on the way to becoming one of my fav actresses together with Wasikowska. I also think that her career is really something to be admired. No scandals, private life tightly guarded, doesn’t have a particularly memorable persona – and is in HQ project after HQ project.
Also, needless to say that I can’t wait to see Crimson Peak! 😛
One of my favorite actresses as well. Can’t wait to see what she does in Interstellar and Crimson Peak is on my calendar for next October.
@Lilac, to be honest I am not particularly thrilled about Interstellar, I’ll go and watch it at the theatre but.. Lets just say I’m not putting too many hopes into it. What I *am* looking forward in particular, in addition to Crimson Peak, are Miss Julie and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (with McAvoy). Both projects got somewhat mixed reviews, but most critics raved about acting.
I’m not sure I would have known who she was from these pictures, especially the second one. She looks different.
I envy people who adore their work, but feel sorry for people who have nothing else in their lives. The ideal for me would be a struggle to balance work that you love with alone time that you love. I don’t understand people who can’t think of anything to do when they’re alone or when they have down time. That’s sad to me, like you’re only half developed as a person. I don’t mean that to sound judgmental. I just love alone time and get real joy from it. If you don’t take time to get to know yourself, what was your life about? But I guess everyone has different ways of finding fulfillment.
I think when you get into a constant cycle of work (out of necessity), it takes some people a little while to just relax and reacquaint themselves to their down time. It’s not that they’re half developed, they just need a while to say “Hey, I can relax now and just hang with the family for a bit” or “I can veg for a few hours and it will be ok” I think I felt guilty for relaxing? If that makes sense. I enjoy alone time and downtime now. In fact I revel in it. LOL
I can’t relax on the weekends. I will just clean my house and do yard work until I’m back at work on Monday. Right now, coffee time, is “me time”. About an hour a day where I just play on the internet.
@Jaderu – I see what you mean. I have worked two jobs before, and I can see how you could just get out of the habit of having downtime. You’re probably right – that’s all she meant.
@Original Tessa – My husband is like that. He has a passion for sailing and music, so those take him out of his work, but he has a hard time just hanging out. He feels guilty. I have always been an excellent “relaxer,” lol. Some might say too much so.
I go through phases. I know what I can do to relax, and that usually entails a good horror flick or yoga. But, I also love to be on the move. I’m a theatre actress, and as many know that life can have its ups and downs, plus I work online, so, I can make my own hours, also looking for another job that pays better while doing acting on the side.
The balance is definitely key. I have never had a problem with down time but right now I feel like I have a bit too much of it and it makes me feel somewhat useless. And guilty that I’m not contributing financially. Yet the thought of going back to work full time seems impossible. I guess I’ve realized that the perfect ratio of work/downtime for me is weighed more heavily on the downtime part and right now that feels very elusive.
Yes, I went through that when I stopped working. You can definitely become too isolated. I have to be sure I get a certain amount of social interaction, and I do some volunteer work using my job skills so I feel productive. Could you go back to work part time? You’re right, you need balance.
I try. I have a couple volunteer gigs in local gov’t, which unfortunately have turned out to be way more stressful than I anticipated because of the politics that have crept in. I do have lunch/coffee/dinner with friends occasionally and have a couple book groups I meet with. I was working on a freelance basis for about 12 years up until last winter, which was perfect when it wasn’t too crazy busy, but things have tapered off a ton and I realize I have no interest in cold calling for new clients when the job (writing ads) doesn’t feel meaningful to me at all.
So, yes, the conclusion I’ve come to is that part time work would be great. So far the only opportunities I’ve found seem to be full time. I actually just signed up for a seminar later this month that’s tailored to women who have been out of the workforce for some time. It’s so unlike me to do something like that because I’m just not the “networking” type. I know it will be hard and uncomfortable, but I’m hoping some clarity might come from it!
I don’t know about any of you think, but I love her to pieces. This is what I really want in a celebrity, humble and modest. Unlike that big boobed young girl, who thinks she can get what ever she want and still be a ” feminist” shtick that really ticks me off and quite frankly I am really offended that she even used the word feminist after showing her breast for that gratutious song that make me sick.
Anyways, I love Jessica Chastain, her humility is worthy of something and I appreciate that from her. I really wish her well.
Her pose on the front cover looks really awkward to me!
Like she didn’t really know what to do with her right arm, so she did…that.
It looks kinda like a prosthetic arm, right? Especially the hand.
Maybe it’s just my eyes.
Now that I look again, it does, funny. I’m sure Photoshop was involved in making it look so lifeless.
Looks like she had a case of itchy crotch!
I think something was missing.. like eye-makeup, maybe a little bit of eyeliner would have be good.
Don’t love the pictures, but they’re not the worse ones of her I’ve seen. I can say she is one of the few actresses that I actually enjoy, while some of her films she seems wooden, the majority I’ve seen have been pretty enjoyable and her acting was pretty good among her contemporaries.
I kind of dislike her as an actress. Don’t ask me why. But in her defense, she looks AMAZING in this photoshoot.
The dress on the cover is fabulous!! Wow.
Ever since The Help I have loved this woman!
Something about her seems kind of disingenuous and off. Maybe it’s the age lying thing, or the rumours about her and Megan Ellison? She seems really “cold” to me. That said, I covet her hair.
I love these pictures. I don’t care if she’s considered “boring” – I like the fact that there is a little mystery to her and the fact that she is a strong supporter of other women in the industry.
Love her as an actress plus I think she’s gorgeous.
how tall is she? I can see she’s short but there’s something off with her proportions, like a huge head and short arms…she’s bae tho
According it my google search, she’s 5’4.”
I’ve never found Jessica to be much of a good pick for magazines. She’s not exactly photogenic or charismatic. I don’t think you need to talk about your private life to seem interesting, you just need a little spark.
But she’s a great actress and she seems to be quite a lovely woman. Love her.