Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist - Jessica Chastain

Episode Date: May 14, 2023

On this week's episode, Willie sits down with Academy Award winner, Jessica Chastain. They talk about her Oscar win last year, her Tony-nominated performance in the new Broadway revival of "A Doll's House", her latest television series, and so much more.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. My thanks as always for clicking and listening along. Kind of an Academy Award winner for you today. She is Jessica Chastain, a great conversation up on a rooftop bar in New York City where she is performing and was just nominated for a Tony Award in a play called A Doll's House. It's actually an old iconic play first performed in Denmark in 1879, written by a play named Ibsen. And I'll let her explain what the story is, who the character is, but what I can tell you without giving away too much because you're going to want to come to New York and see this play

is that it is very stripped down. That's the euphemism I will use. Not much of a set, not much in the way of costumes or props or any of the other things you're used to sing when you come to Broadway. It's just raw performance for two hours where Jessica doesn't come off stage the entire time. Some of her cast members move in and out, but it is her. all the time. She's amazing in it, as you would probably expect. She's also on Broadway, the place she always dreamed of moving growing up in Northern California as a little girl. She says she didn't quite fit into any of the groups and then discovered theater and said, I want to do that. And so she got into Juilliard, came to New York City, went on to become an incredible stage

actor, and then, of course, the movie star that we all know now. She also is getting a lot of acclaim for the series George and Tammy in which she plays Tammy Wynette. It's an explosive series. She plays Tammy Wynette. Michael Shannon plays George Jones. It's an account of their real life relationship. So a lot to talk about with one of the smartest and most talented people in Hollywood. It is Jessica Chastain right now on the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Good to see you. Thank you for doing this. Thank you. I want to especially thank you because I know how rigorous, not only your performance schedule, but the performance itself is. And the fact that you would just like take a minute here with me,

I'm very grateful. It's wonderful. here it's very calm we're on a roof in New York City. Okay good. A little downtime for you. Hopefully. Hopefully. So let's talk about a doll's house, an iconic play by an iconic playwright from the late

19th century. This is a new look at it, a modern look at it. For people who aren't familiar with the story, how do you describe it, the themes and the story of Nora and her life? Well, not giving it away, I would say the play is about this woman, a mother, a wife. a friend who has found herself living a life of deceit and trying to help others. And she comes to the point where she really doesn't know who she is anymore. And she has a nervous breakdown in the play as she tries to kind of keep all the plates in the

air, and she realizes she can't do it anymore. Were you familiar with the play before this was kind of brought to you? Is this something you'd studied? I was. At college, you know, I read it. It's such an important piece of literature. But surprisingly, I didn't gravitate towards it. I gravitated more towards Stringberg, who was a contemporary. And, you know, I remember I performed scenes from Miss Julie in school. And then I did a movie, Miss Julie, directed by the Goldman. And I liked the angst of it. But what's interesting is as I've matured, as I've, you know, kind of traveled the world and met many people. I'm so grateful for Ibsen, and I'm so grateful for Nora. I mean, when you look at Julie and you look at Nora, both of these women are suffering from a nervous breakdown,

and they come to the decision of whether or not to sacrifice themselves for a man, and they make different decisions at the end of the play. And I think that's a very valuable thing that Ibsen put into the world. I told you I brought my mom to see it, thinking, oh, this will be fun. She'll come in and do a show, and it became something so much more for her and for us and a great discussion afterward that continued, actually. So what do you hope someone who comes like my mom or me takes away from the story of Nora and the story of a doll's house? Well, that is so beautiful to me.

I mean, the play starts. You see 1879 written on the wall because that's the date when it was first performed. But you realize how relevant the story is today. and I think it's not even just for women. I like to look at the character of Nora's, anyone who is playing a part to appease others, or someone who feels like they've been denied certain inequalities or freedoms in their lives.

So they have to behave in a certain way to gain power. But in doing so, you're upholding a system that doesn't really work for you. Right. And I think there are many people that find them in that position. So I find it to be so incredibly relevant, not just for women, but for anyone who feels like they are not allowing themselves to be their authentic selves because of a fear of not being granted certain privileges or rights. And in her case, she's playing a part

within a marriage, within a family. And I thought about sort of unrealized potential in women or anyone, really, who is playing that part and all the things they might be doing otherwise if they didn't feel bound in by that. Did you see any of yourself at all in Nora when you studied her? Do you have some of those experiences as well? That's interesting. I think, yes, I imagine we all have that experience. I mean, we all, I brought up Leave Oldman a lot, and today for some reason,

it's probably because I'm thinking about Nora, and she's played Nora, and she's a, I admire her so much, and she said to me once that it's everyone's true desire to be completely seen. and loved by another human being, but completely seen and cherished and loved and honored. And perhaps if that is what we desire, what are we doing to try to make others happy? And so maybe that I do, of course, have that as well. I'm someone, though, that has been very, since I was incredibly young, I've been very clear about what I wanted to do with my life.

and I made a very early decision to really focus on that. So thankfully, I don't feel like I've, in some sense, martyred or sacrificed myself or my wants and my desires. I feel quite fulfilled in that way. It is such a powerful and emotional performance. I'm going to do my very best not to give anything away. So I'm very broad and vague when I say that. But I was watching you through almost two hours,

of this play, thinking, my God, that's draining. And then I thought, oh, she's got to go take a nap for 30 minutes and go do it again. So what is it like eight times a week to get up for that kind of performance and then to sort of get down out of it? It's exhausting, but also invigorating. You know, I love doing theater. It's what I first wanted to do. I used to, when I was very young, I had a, I think I got for my birthday subscription to American

Theater magazine. I started watching the Tonys even before the Oscars, and I was so excited. I remember reading about Ray Fines playing Hamlet in New York, all these performances that I was so excited by, and the opportunity of the idea that I could live in New York City and do theater and be with people that I felt like were always searching for. for a more exciting and more fulfilling life. And surrounding myself with a group of people like that, that was really a goal of mine.

So to be here and to get to go to the theater, even though if I have two shows, and it's draining and it's very emotional. And I can't think about what I'm doing. I mean, Tasha, who's in the show with me, she said to me that she comes on stage and she looks at me, she goes, and I just think, this girl's about to climb a mountain. But I can't think of that.

I can't think of like, what am I about to do in 30 minutes? Like, where does the play get rough? I think, like, what am I doing right now? And I'm always just there. And I get so much back from the audience. And I feel so excited after performance. I'm exhausted, but I can't even take a nap. Really?

I have too much. Your adrenaline's pumping. I can't even. I go and I meet everyone at the stage door. And I try to rest of my voice. I drink a lot of water because there's some tears that are shed and I want to

You know, I just want to make sure I'm healthy But I'm very careful You know, I wore a mask at the Oscars Everyone thought I was crazy A wore mask at the Sagina Wars Because, you know, if I got COVID I'd be out of the play I mean, I've really dedicated myself to doing this

And I kind of love it It feels quite monastic, you know This almost sacred Being able to give myself to it I have to imagine and for all the reasons you just described your dreams as a little girl, even the moment of walking out a stage door on Broadway and seeing a bunch of people there waiting

because I'm sure you were on the other side of that railing at some point in your life. That has to be kind of surreal, isn't it? It's crazy. I mean, I missed one day of not going to the stage door, and it was because I wasn't feeling well, and they asked me to protect my voice. But I was so sad to not go see everyone afterwards. I mean, when I go and I see them, there are people,

I met people who flew from Shanghai yesterday to come see the play. I meet people from all over the world. And when you talked about the experience you had with your mom, I get to meet family members who the play has really created a conversation for them. They're quite emotional at the stage door. There's lots of hugs and lots of pictures. And, you know, it's beautiful. And it makes me feel just so grateful.

I always look back at the kid that was imagining doing theater and living in New York someday and being like, wow, you did it. It's really, I still can't wrap my head around. And you're really doing it. Again, in the interest of remaining vague, we'll just say that it is stripped down. Is that vague enough, I guess, for what people will see? What challenge does that present to you? Because you also don't leave the stage. I mean, you were right there for the entire play.

And I can say, too, it's more than two hours because it's even beyond the play a little without giving anything more vague rates. It's very difficult. I remember when I first spoke to the director, J.B. Lloyd, who I think he's just think he's a genius. We've been planning on working together for a while, and we met right before the rehearsals for this, and he started to tell me some of his ideas about how he wanted to strip away the play. And at one point, and I'm just going to say, it's okay, I think it's fine that, that I'm sure most people start, you know, like certain props, we don't have certain props. And I said to him, I said, well, I don't, he goes, we're not going to do props. I said, well, I don't understand this. In the play that I read, it says I come on stage eating cookies. And then in the very first scene I say, I would never eat cookies. I would never go behind your back like that. If I'm not, if you're not seeing me do that, then we're missing a lot. How am I, I, I don't know how to, like, I don't know how to, like, I don't know how to do that. And Jamie just looked at me and he goes, you'll do it with your acting. Okay. Okay. The blind faith of this man who's just like, I'm going to take away every single tool that you have, and I have faith that you're going to be able to do it with your acting, just your acting. And it's really, I mean, God bless him, because it kind of in some sense,

like I had a lot of fear, but I was just like, you know what, I'm just going to put all of my, trust into him and I'm really glad I did. It's a high compliment to you and the rest of the cast. You guys got this. Do it with your acting. I trust you. But also, doesn't that mean as an actor there's nowhere to take a break

or to hide or to go open a refrigerator or pour a glass of water? It's just you're just locked in. I mean, there are some scenes and he's really, he said to me he wanted the play to feel like a close-up. He's like, he doesn't want to ever give me a break you know, from being viewed.

He wants, it's like I'm under the microscope from the moment the audience sees me, or makes. But he doesn't want to allow me to take a break or rest. And so because of that, in a normal production, it's like, okay, you could forget a line. And you go, I'm going to go over here and play with the flowers. Or I'm going to look at my scene partner and we're going to figure out how to get through this. Or something's happening in the audience. You know, there's a lot of improvisation that you can do. there are many times I'm in a scene and I'm on stage by myself

with no props and nowhere to go because the director's trapped me, I guess you could say. So it really feels that I am absolutely under the microscope. There's no, it's relentless in the energy, but also it makes it so fulfilling because it's really like, yes, I'm about to climb a mountain, but I'm not even really aware of it. I'm just like, it's like, I'm just concentrating one foot in front of the next.

Because if I think too far ahead and I think like, oh, big scenes coming up and what if the emotion isn't there? Right. Then I'm, then I'm in trouble. Then it's daunting all of a sudden. Yeah. Hey, guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Stick around to hear more from Jessica Chastain right after the break. Welcome back now more of my conversation with Jessica Chastain.

So this was a play that was supposed to be staged in 2020 in the West End. and for obvious reasons that didn't happen. Was there a chance it wasn't going to happen at all? Were you convinced that it was going away, or did you feel like at some point you'd get your chance to play Nora? No, I knew it was going to happen, and they kept reaching out to me, and Jamie kept reaching out to me, and kept working on it.

In fact, we were going to use a different adaptation, and then translation, during the pandemic, he said, I really would love a woman to adapt this. What do you think about that? And then that made me very excited. And then Amy Herzog came on board. So during the whole pandemic, the play was still being worked on. And what we're doing now is Amy Herzog's translation,

which is, I think, so beautiful what she's worked on. It's her Broadway debut, and she's an incredible writer and playwright. And then we're always going to do it in the West End, but I'm a New Yorker. I mean, when I talk about, like, what I grew up in Northern California, and I dreamed about coming to New York. I went to college here. I love New York

and I was so sad during the pandemic you know like walking around the city and walking around Times Square in the theater district and talking to all my friends who were out of work and like all the crew members

and I just called Jamie and I said I can't can we please do it in New York I just didn't want to leave my home and he said yes so it really kind of everything kind of happens for a reason

and that we're doing the play now the way we were supposed to. And I do hope that we'll make it to the West End also and hopefully be able to tour it as well because I love doing this play. But I'm so happy to be home. People forget in those moments when you were walking around. It was no sure thing that this all was going to come back.

I mean, if Broadway goes dark for six months or a year, it's perilous, and it must feel good to play a part and sort of bringing it back. And Broadway does feel back when you go out. into these theaters now. Yeah, I really wanted to show where my heart is. You know, I am a person who kind of wears my heart on my sleeve, and I wanted to focus when I was during the pandemic.

I really wanted to put my energy here. I mean, at the very beginning of it, I was stuck somewhere else, because when everything shut down, I was in another state. And I was like desperate to get back. I mean, I was, you know, like, sending my, money to bakeries and sending food to hospitals. And I was like so wanting to be here. And then when I finally got here, got back here, which was just a few months later, I just couldn't imagine ever leaving again. Yeah, you've done a good service by helping Broadway come back. And it's been 10 years

since you were on Broadway. I was thinking about in 2013, 10 years ago, your movie career was underway for sure. You've had some big roles. But so much has happened for you since then. you won an Academy Award. Congratulations. About a year ago. You're in an amazing series right now that we're going to talk about. But is it just great to be back on that stage,

the place you sort of always dreamed of being? Yeah, it's great. And it feels different this time. I mean, in fact, it's a little over, when you said 2030, it's a little over 10 years because it was 2012. Oh, it was. Okay.

When I did it. And I was on stage at the same time I was releasing CerroDark 30. Okay. And so on a day off, like, I finished the show on Sunday, and I'd fly to London to do a press day and then fly back. And I was in a constant state of doing, of supporting that film and performing. And that show was like three and a half hours.

It was such a long production and such a lot of energy as well that I really felt like I was, my energy was in too many different places. And so when I came back to do this, I was very excited to just like focus as my priority on the place. Just be here. Hometown. And it's been a difference for me. It really has. I mean, I've traveled a little bit here and there, you know, to go to the Oscars or whatnot. But again, I wore my mask because my priority has been the play.

And so I've been really excited to just give myself to it. Well, congratulations on it. I wish I could say more, but I won't. It's just fantastic. Just get there early, stay late. That's all I'm going to say. I mentioned George and Tammy, which is a huge hit, and you were incredible in that. We were just talking before we sat down about taking on not just a familiar face in Tammy Whitenet,

but a very familiar voice who sings iconic songs. What about her story and that series grabbed you? What attracted me to playing Tammy Winnet is I felt the more I had read about her as I realized she had been misjudged by me, and I think a lot of the feminist movement, I think a lot of women might have misjudged her. Because of her songs Stand By Your Man, I think they saw it as her, her song, saying that a woman needs to stand by a man through anything and, you know, even if you're being treated poorly. But she's the first one to say it. The song is not about being a dormant. Also, Tammy Winette was married five times. So she was never telling anyone to stay in a bad situation

that was unhealthy for them. I found it really interesting in studying her how the public saw her and how she really was in those two parts of it. Also, this woman showed up in Nashville in the 1960s, a single mother, divorced mother with three kids on her hip, and determined to make a name for her self-of-country music, which is so misogynistic. Nashville was crazy in the 1960s, and she did it. She did it. She is a force.

So I was so excited to explore that and play her. And also to work with Mike Shannon playing George Jones. I think he's unbelievable. Yeah, he's explosive. You guys are amazing together. It's exciting, but I imagine the scary part of it was, Jessica, we're going to need you to sing all the songs. Oh, terrifying.

I mean, I sang in the eyes of Tammy Faye, but that's a different kind of singing. Listen, I didn't know how it was going to work out. You know, I had many years. I was attached this project for 10 years. I sat, I remember like five years ago, I sat with, maybe six years ago, T. Bonnet in my living room. And said, let's just sing the songs and see. And he goes, what do you want to start with? I go, let's sing Stamireman.

He had his guitar. I said, I just want to know if this even makes sense. You know, like, let's just figure out. said, no, it'll be fine, you know, trust me. So we did it, and not only did we do it, I think it was different than other situations where everything in the show was live on set. So they created a situation where the microphones were live.

We had earwigs in our ear. And so we do one take where the audience could hear the music and we'd sing to the music, so they knew kind of like what the vibe was. And then on take two, they'd get to, in order, to get our vocals clean, they would cut the music so it only played in our ear. And we'd be singing, but the audience only heard our voice, which is so vulnerable. I mean, I've shown it's because I have some friends who were there and filmed kind of like

behind the scenes. I've showed some people at that, that's crazy. But they were wonderful. And, you know, 10 hours a day when you have to sing a song like, Stand By Your Man, you're just looking at all those faces, you know, hundreds of people, day players, and you're like, I'm sorry guys. You know, just like on every scene you could have, you can forget a line, you can have a bad line reading. You're going to get a bad note once in a while. Yeah. And they were so supportive.

Had you done singing like that before? I mean, I know you have, but like on that scale where it's central to the story. Oh, no. And they never, I mean, our showrunner, Abe Sylvia, he actually started on Broadway. He was a dancer in cats. No way. Oh, my gosh. And now he's like this prolific writer and some, you know, amazing.

guy. And so he really knows a lot about music and musical theater and, you know, and he's from the South. He loves George and Tammy. And for him, he wanted to, and he talked about it with John Hillcote, our director, that the songs had to feel

like scenes. So we ended the songs in a different place than we were in the beginning. So we're not just there doing a musical number, we're acting them. And that may mean my voice may crack on a line because I have a tear forming. or I may decide not to sing a line because I'm really upset

and I don't feel like saying it or singing it. So the songs, and that's why I think they directed it the way they did to be live, like we did on set, because the songs are side by side with the scene work. It's one and the same. Stick around for more of my conversation with Jessica Chastain right after a quick break. Welcome back now to the rest of my conversation with Jessica Chastain.

You mentioned the eyes of Tammy Faye. You won the Oscar about a year ago. My gosh, you've been nominated a couple times before. You won this one. What was it like the little girl you were just talking about putting on plays in the cul-de-sac, Northern California? And now there you are standing with an Oscar. What was the moment like?

That was crazy. I mean, I didn't imagine it was going to happen. The reality is that was a weird night. And when it did happen, because I'm a very emotional person, and I'm quite, like, everyone always makes fun of me because when I win something, I never think it's going to happen. So I'm always like, shock. I always think these weird, not attractive faces because it's just not something I'm expecting. And the Oscars was more like, okay, here I go. Because I think the strangeness in that room was helpful.

it, not help, the strangest in that room centered me in a way that I felt like I wanted to center the room. So then when I got on stage and it was such an emotional, huge moment in my life that I never really even imagined could be possible. I was able to talk about what it meant to me and I was able to talk about things that were important to me and, you know, I've lost a very dear family member to suicide and I was able to talk about that a little bit without tipping over into becoming too emotional to talk about it. So I think that night was profound to me because in a way it became more than just about myself because I felt like I was part of that audience and part of that room and I'm like, all right, we're all here together and let's feel our feet on the ground

and like ground ourselves and be in this moment. Do you think about the scope? of your life, or is that just too much to bear in that moment? In other words, at 10 years old, going with your grandmother to see a play and like, oh, I want to do that, and then putting on plays, and then getting into Juilliard and all the things that took you to that moment, does that hit you, or does that come later? It comes before. It comes, like, with the nominations. It comes with that kind of recognition. I mean, my grandmother, she's the one who moved me to New York when I first went to Juilliard. She stayed with me in my dorm room a few times. I mean, it was crazy.

Didn't she take you to the bed bath and beyond at 65th in Broadway? I had my shower caddy for the shared bathroom. I'm like, the whole thing. So yeah, it's been, it's, it's all there. I think in that moment when I got on stage, I just felt, it just felt like I didn't want it to be about me. I don't know. I just wanted it to be more about, I mean, I guess when you go on stage, you're there to be thankful and to thank people. And that's what it really felt like to me. It didn't feel like, I celebrate who I am. And wanted to be like, wow, like, and I don't want to get emotional talking about it, but the people that have put so much of their time into helping me, but also the people out there maybe that I haven't even met yet, who might

be struggling or feel like they've been abandoned or forgotten or they don't have anyone on their side and I just wanted them to know that they're not forgotten. Maybe that's something too like I think when I was a little kid you know I was raised by a single mom and I spent a lot of time with my grandma and you know a lot of the women in my family had pregnancies when they were teenagers and I'm the first one to break that cycle and I kind of felt like our family there was a a lot of struggle trying to find our place in society. And so I didn't want anyone else to feel that. That's beautiful.

And for you even right in high school feeling like people didn't get you or see you or see the talent or the potential you had. And to connect with somebody who did ultimately. I mean, your family did, but I mean teachers and other people like that to be seen. Yeah, I mean, I found my, once I started taking like drama class, then I was. Those are your people. I was like, oh, I'm with like all the people who want to do strange things and, you know, I would, I mean, I wasn't very wise. I would like skip school to reach Shakespeare in my car.

I mean, that's not something that someone should be doing in high school. But I, and I was like dreaming about working at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, you know, in Ashland, Oregon. And hopefully someday moving to New York and doing theater. So once I got like once I realized you can't just not do the classes you don't want to do You got to show up to PE oh my god I had to take PE twice it was really no one really wow that's rare If it was dance class it would have been okay right if I could have been expressive but no I didn't want to do pull-ups No one does running around a track wasn't for me and this all worked out great for you you never needed to know how to do a pull-up in the long run There you go unless I'm playing a part

Yeah, actually, I take that back. I'm sure you will. This air is on Mother's Day. You mentioned your mother and your grandmother. What will you be thinking about on Mother's Day? Well, I'm definitely going to be thinking about them, how grateful I am to them. My grandmother, of course, she moved me to New York, and she would send me, like, no one had ever really lived in New York.

And when it got cold, it got really cold. And she would go to, like, T.J. Max and ship me some jackets and sweaters, and I get care of packages from her. My mom took me to, she drove me an hour and a half to audition at Theater Works in San Francisco for my first equity theater company before I even went to Juilliard, and I got it, you know, to play Juliet and Romeo and Juliet. So my mom and my grandmother really were there for me and made sacrifices in their lives.

I mean, you talked about, you know, your mom. and a lot of the women that are coming to see a doll's house and this kind of idea of like what was lost and I think about my mom my grandma and a lot of the women in my family and I and I was very aware when I was a teenager what was lost for them and what they were unable to achieve and I never wanted to be a part of that and I don't want any other woman to be a part of that so I I'm very great to them for helping me on my way, and I hope to pay it forward. Well said. Thank you. Congratulations on a doll's house. It's extraordinary. And again, I say that without giving away anything about it. You didn't give away anything. Right? We did well. Yeah. Yes. Thanks, Jessica. Thank you. That's great. My big thanks again to Jessica for a great conversation. You can catch her in a doll's house on Broadway, now through June 10th, where she again is nominated for a Tony Award. And my thanks to all of you

for listening again this week. If you want to hear my conversations every week, be sure to click follow so you never miss an episode. And don't forget to tune in to Sunday today every weekend on NBC. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Music