As someone who by her own admission has consciously always taken up well-written female characters in her acting journey so far, Jessica Chastain still believes that such roles are still far and between.
The star of films like Zero Dark Thirty (2012) , Sloane (2016), Molly’s Game (2017), Ava (2020), says that even though things have been changing for the better in recent times, it is still not enough when it comes to good female roles.
“There has been so much conversation about strong women, and how radical a thought it is about our industry… but in reality our industry has done a terrible job at showcasing women as they are. And through Zero Dark Thirty I got to know some women who do the work in the shadows, espionage work and put their lives at risk and are really unsung in their deeds,” Chastain tells us.
The actor further adds, “I feel like the industry has determined in the past that a woman’s greatest asset is her sexual desirability and I don’t see that in the world. I want people to see the true reflection of how strong women are on screen.”
It was that desire to bring about that change, that the actor decided to turn producer and make sure she backs projects that tell the stories of such women, including her recent The 355, which about group of female international spies who must work together to stop a terrorist organization from starting World War III.
