Jessica Chastain Worried Speaking Out Would Destroy Her Career

Jessica Chastain says in a new interview that she was shocked by her Golden Globes nomination yesterday due in large part to how outspoken she has been about Hollywoods many allegations of sexual misconduct.

To be honest, Im mainly surprised about my nomination, she told the New York Times of her nod for Best Actress in a Drama for her new film, Mollys Game. As an actor, I have a lot of fear, thinking that if I speak my mind, or something that feels like it deviates from the norm as a woman, am I going to be made to disappear in my industry?

Chastain tweeted frequently following Octobers bombshell reports about Harvey Weinsteins inappropriate behavior toward women in the industry, amplifying survivors voices on her social media pages and adding her own thoughts to the conversation. (She notably called out X-Men director Bryan Singer in November when previous allegations against him resurfaced).

Ive got a good group of girlfriends on WhatsApp, and I said, Im really terrified Im destroying my career right now,' she continued. I wonder if people will still see me as an actress, and want to work with [me] knowing I have these opinions. In the way that only good girlfriends can do, they helped me eliminate fear and understand that the only way to change something thats wrong is to change it, not ignore it. And rather than saying its an industrywide issue, its more than that. Its a society-wide issue. We cant ignore farmworkers or women who have been invisible.

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Chastains vocal support for victims of sexual harassment and abuse previously led to some backlash, as she detailed on the Graham Norton Show earlier this month.

I was tweeting a lot at the time and actually got an email from a well-known actor that said, Calm down,' she said. I found that heartbreaking and can only think he didnt understand the movement that was happening.

Still, she maintained in her interview with the Times, she is proud to be a part of the revolution that is upending Hollywood and the patriarchal society at large.

It really is a new world, she said. Weve been since birth in a society that makes us feel like were easily replaceable, that we need to be grateful for any work, and grateful for what we have. But what that does is it limits our acknowledgment of the power we have, especially when we work together.

Mollys Game, about Molly Bloom, a former world-class skier who began running a high-stakes celebrity poker game, is also nominated for Best Screenplay.