With several impeccable performances in a series of movies, Jessica Chastain has cemented herself as one of the most acclaimed and respected names in the film industry. Though she has been working in Hollywood from a very young age, it is quite difficult to meet her expectations as she is someone who prefers to portray complex characters. She is the definition of a strong and fierce woman and her characters must resonate a personality like her, and she does not hold back when sharing her opinions.
Since Jessica Chastain has also done a fair share of action films, she shared her unprecedented opinion of how the film industry tends to s**ualize the actresses, who are trying to showcase themselves as fearless action characters. And her comments are justified, as Marvel one of the biggest action franchises has done the same thing to make itself successful.
Jessica Chastain Calls Out Hollywood For S**ualizing Female Leads in Action Roles
Jessica Chastain has done a plethora of action roles in her career, and she has charmed the viewers with her intense and fearless performance that has redefined what it means to be an action actress. However, she is unhappy with playing action roles as Hollywood tends to have a bad habit of eroticizing actresses, clearly, she was not happy with this ill practice.
As a result, during an exclusive interview with Radio Times, she calls out the film industry for doing so. She states how Hollywood has the habit of sexualizing and objectifying its female action heroes, and they must be in a catsuit to play their respective roles.
“If you look at films like Elektra and Aeon Flux, the problem that studios have is they try to make kick-ass women very se**alized. They have to be in some catsuit.”
The Zero Dark Thirty actress gave the example of Ridley Scott’s 1979 film, Alien where Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley as well as Jennifer Lawrence’s role in The Hunger Games, who did not have to follow such typical norms, yet they were outstanding as action actresses.
“But if you look at the most incredible female roles, like Ripley in Alien, she is a very sexy woman but she’s not wearing a lot of make-up. She’s in a T-shirt and jeans. What’s sexy about her is how capable she is. Same with Jennifer Lawrence in Hunger Games – she’s not wearing a catsuit, either.”
Jessica Chastain’s comments are true as Marvel Cinematic Universe has done the same thing with Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff/ Black Widow, who rocks a catsuit as well. Though her portrayal of the character is flawless, her costume has often raised questions among the fans, as filmmakers preferred aesthetics over character depth.
Jessica Chastain Perfected Tom Cruise’s Running Technique
During an exclusive interview with Vulture, Jessica Chastain acknowledged that, unlike Tom Cruise, she can’t maintain a gracious look when running in front of the camera. Consequently, she needed to improve that aspect, and she got that help from her The Debt co-star, Sam Worthington. The actress considers John Madden’s film as her formal debut in the action genre.
“I think every role is so different that I’m playing, that every role is kind of the first to introduce me. Like this is my introduction to the action-thriller genre.”
To make her role more authentic in the 2010 action film, she practiced the fighting techniques but to do justice to the film, she desired to run like an athlete. Worthington suggested that she should set her goals based on the Mission Impossible actor.
“And Sam [Worthington] took it upon himself to be my action coach, and he taught me how to pump my arms like Tom Cruise when I run. A lot of times I see movies with girls in action sequences, and I don’t buy it at all, but he helped me make it look really real. Because I’d never been in a fight in my life.”
The hard work paid off as she nailed her role in the film, making the viewers a fan of her performance, and establishing herself as one of the biggest names in the industry.
