Jessica Chastain: I wasn’t ready for Cannes

Actress Jessica Chastain felt out of her depth and almost passed out at her first Cannes Film Festival in 2011.

The 38-year-old actress made her debut at the French festival to promote movie The Tree of Life. Having spent years taking parts on TV and smaller roles in movies the film was a big leap in her career. But suddenly finding herself at the prestigious event alongside her big name co-stars Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, Jessica felt like a fish out of water.

“I would have fainted without them,” she confessed to W Magazine. “When I see a picture from that premiere, I seem happy. But that was, actually, a kind of acting. In my head, I was thinking, I have no idea what I’m doing here, and I don’t belong. Cannes was when my career was born. I made it through the fire to the Palais, and it changed my life.”

The film went on to win the festival’s prestigious Palme d'Or and Jessica’s career went from strength to strength. Her resume includes Interstellar and Oscar nominated performances in The Help and Zero Dark Thirty. Jessica strives to show off her range as an actress and doesn’t want to be pigeon-holed into one particular genre.

“I think of versatility as a good thing, but it does make it difficult for audiences to know you,” she admitted.

Jessica is currently starring in The Martian alongside Matt Damon. She enjoys starring in big budget movies as much as independent productions, but there’s one franchise she is determined to be part of.

“One of my goals is to play a villain in a Bond film,” she added. “People ask me if I want to be a Bond girl, and I say, ‘No, I want to be the villain.’ I’m waiting for that call!”