Jessica Chastain recalls film breakthrough

(Cover) - EN Movies - Jessica Chastain has revealed how she came to land her first high-profile movie part in The Tree of Life.

Jessica was fixated on playing devoted mother Mrs O'Brien in the 2011 film which also starred Brad Pitt and Sean Penn.

The red haired actress became determined to get the part as she found out about it four years ago.

“Back then, I hadn’t been getting any auditions for films, so I was doing guest spots on TV shows, and, for some reason, on those shows I got raped a lot..." Jessica told W magazine. "I was always cast as the victim. When I heard about The Tree of Life, I felt like I belonged in that world.”

Jessica was surprised by the audition she underwent for writer-and-director Terrence Malick.

She was asked to put a baby to sleep and give someone an admiring look.

“They showed me a poster of Ethan Hawke’s face and said, ‘Look at that with love and respect'," she explained.

Prior to her securing the unscripted audition, Jessica had done extensive research into the character and Terrence's life.

This included visiting the Kansas area and enrolling in classes at a meditation retreat in Arizona.

“I wanted to slow down the mad monkey of the mind in order to cultivate a kind of inner calm that would translate to the film," Jessica explained. "I knew I had to give myself over to the movie and to Terry [Malick]. That kind of immersion is so wonderful - it’s why I love working with artists.”