Jessica Chastain was inspired to officially label herself a feminist by Emma Watson's UN speech.
The 24-year-old British actress was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador in July and delivered a powerful talk about gender equality in September for the launch of the HeForShe campaign. Jessica, 37, has long been an advocate of equal rights and is pleased the younger generation are supporting the cause now more than ever.
"I love that so many people are admitting they're a feminist. Before, it felt like it was a controversial thing to say. After I saw Emma Watson's speech about it at the UN, I changed my Twitter bio to include feminist," she gushed to British newspaper Metro. "It means you believe in equal opportunity for all."
Her outlook is what draws her to strong female roles, such as her latest film Interstellar. Jessica plays the grown-up daughter of Matthew McConaughey's character Cooper, who with her father's guidance discovers a breakthrough in science. It's a part the actress is proud of.
"You know the part originally was written for a man? Which is why the character's name is Murph," she grinned. "Chris [Nolan, director] decided to make it about a father and daughter, which is very rare. She's intelligent but she can also be emotional. It's not like, 'Oh, she's smart so she's cold.' She's actually everything."
She is also set to take on the title character in upcoming drama The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her, with James McAvoy playing her husband Connor Ludlow. The pair had a lot of fun on set, even during some of the raunchier scenes.
"The gorgeous James McAvoy, whom I love - he improvises a lot. It's great because sometimes I can take things a little seriously as an actor. There was always a sense of play and fun," she added. "There's a scene where he is helping my character put her bra back on and he just started improvising that he was programmed to take bras off, not to put them back on. I laughed and said: 'You're so stupid' and that's used in the film."
