Upworthy's book GOOD PEOPLE comes out on September 3, 2024 — take a look!

Shop
 Explore 

jessica chastain

"The old fashioned stereotype doesn't work."

Expressing your emotions is a perfectly normal and healthy part of the human experience. But far too many boys and men feel as though their identity as a male depends on upholding both a tough exterior and interior — void of feelings and tears.

Actress Jessica Chastain wants that to change. Because to her, lives truly do depend on it. And the stats back her up.

In a tweet shared on April 29, the Hollywood A-lister called on all of us to challenge the stereotypes and expectations associated with masculinity — starting with one particularly harmful phrase.

"Can we please eliminate the phrase, 'Stop crying. Be a man'?" the actress wrote. "The old fashioned stereotype doesn't work."

Chastain then highlighted an alarming reality: More men die by suicide than women.

As she pointed out in her tweet citing data collected by the CDC, 121 Americans, on average, die by suicide each day — and 93 of them are men.

Men are far less likely to reach out for help if they're experiencing mental health issues. Many advocates argue there's a clear link between toxic masculinity — a set of attitudes that suggest men should be assertive and dominant, not emotional or vulnerable — and the fact men are over 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than women.

It's a topic comedian Michael Ian Black recently explored at length in a New York Times op-ed, where he argued rigid gender norms are exacerbating America's gun violence problem:

We need to get better at allowing boys and men to be emotional, feel seen, and be comfortable opening up. We need to get better at allowing boys and men to be human.

"Let's cherish the vulnerabilities of men," Chastain wrote in her tweet. "Their lives depend on it."

If you need help, don't hesitate to reach out and get it. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or learn more here.

Jada Pinkett Smith's fiery defense of Jessica Chastain is what Hollywood needs.

'I got to give our sister Jessica Chastain her props.'

This was the cover of Los Angeles Times' magazine The Envelope, published on Dec. 21, 2017.

Notice anything ... painfully obvious?

All actresses gracing the cover — Margot Robbie, Diane Kruger, Saoirse Ronan, Annette Bening, Jessica Chastain, and Kate Winslet — are white.

The cover's message — highlighting "a change in the way many stories are told" — came across as tone deaf and exclusionary at a time when the conversation around racial diversity on screen has taken center stage.

Many people noticed. "I don't understand how ... a cover like this could be approved with this headline," one Twitter user said.

It was Chastain in particular, though, who took the most heat for appearing on the cover.

In recent years, Chastain has become a vocal advocate for change in Hollywood, publicly addressing how racism and misogyny affect her industry in consequential ways. Her production company, Freckle Films, is primarily staffed by women, according to The Mary Sue, and focuses on female-driven projects. So her involvement in The Envelope cover was especially noteworthy (and disappointing) to many fans, given her commitment to changing the industry from the inside out.

‌Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Critics' Choice Awards.‌

"Honestly, [Chastain], as an outspoken voice for equality, how do you pose for a photo like this and not feel absolutely mortified by the blatant exclusion?" asked WNYC editor Rebecca Carroll.

To her credit, Chastain responded to the cover, calling it "sad" and demanding better:

And many fans defended the actress, suggesting that she was being disproportionately criticized.

But Chastain also got some big-name support from another famous woman in Hollywood: Jada Pinkett Smith.

At the Sundance Film Festival, Pinkett Smith took part in a panel about the importance of diverse storytelling on Jan. 22, 2018. While she didn't directly reference the fallout from The Envelope cover, Pinkett Smith made a point to praise Chastain for her work behind the scenes empowering women of all colors.

‌Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for The Clara Lionel Foundation.‌

Pinkett Smith referenced a new film project starring Chastain and the Oscar-winning Octavia Spencer, who is black, in order to illustrate an important point.

"Jessica said to Octavia, ‘I got you. I’m going to Universal, and we’re going to make a favored nations deal,’" she began. "Jessica stood up for Octavia, and I want you to know that because they stood together, they got three times what they were asking for as a unit."

The "favored nations deal" Pinkett Smith referenced is a clause in some entertainment contracts that guarantees no other performer sharing the screen with an artist can be working under better terms. By helping ensure Spencer got a deal in that vein, Chastain helped level the playing field.

Representation is important, Pinkett Smith explained, but it should be accompanied by real, substantial work toward equality — work that often happens behind the scenes.

And when it comes to doing the work, according to Pinkett Smith, Chastain is a team player. She went on:

Preach, Jada.

Watch Pinkett Smith's fiery defense of Chastain in the video below:

'Quite disturbing to me, to be honest': Jessica Chastain calls out sexism in film.

At the Cannes Film Festival, Chastain got candid about the need for more female directors.

Actor Jessica Chastain didn't pull any punches at the Cannes Film Festival closing press conference on May 28.

Chastain, who was a jury member at this year's event, was not happy about how women were portrayed in many of the stories she saw on screen, and she explained why.

Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images.

Her two cents, captured in a minute-long clip below, has been met with several hell yeahs from other women across the internet, including celebrated director Ava DuVernay, who shared it on Twitter:

Chastain told reporters that after watching 20 films in 10 days, she found the way women were represented in many of them to be "quite disturbing."

Changing the way women are represented on screen begins with giving women more consequential roles behind the camera, she argued.

“I do believe that if you have female storytelling, you also have more authentic female characters," Chastain began. "The one thing I really took away from this experience is how the world views women from the female characters that I saw represented. And it was quite disturbing to me, to be honest."

Photo by Matthias Nareyek/Getty Images.

When it comes to women's roles in Hollywood — in front of and behind the camera — the data backs up Chastain's point.

A study published in February 2017 by the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism found that of the 1,000 top-grossing films since 2007, just 1 in 24 were directed by women. That figure drops sharply for female directors of color.

What's more, the study found the span of a female director's career is shorter — men in their 20s or 80s can find directing success, while ageism appears to restrict younger and older women's opportunities. Certain types of films are far more inaccessible to female directors, too; women are less likely to get directing opportunities in action and thriller genres, for instance.

These gender imbalances are largely responsible for the discrepancy in opportunities for female actors. Speaking roles in Hollywood tend to go to men, and even when they don't, the characters women play are too often minimized to "the girlfriend, the mother, or the wife," Variety pointed out.

To Chastain, those numbers are unacceptable, but the solution is both obvious and possible.

Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images.

"I do hope that when we include more female storytellers, we will have more of the women that I recognize in my day-to-day life," Chastain concluded at Cannes, "ones that are proactive, have their own agencies, just don’t react to the men around them. They have their own point of view."

'We stand together.'

On Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, more than 2 million people all over the world marched for gender equality rights. Many celebrities were right there with them.

After all, female celebrities — no matter how famous they are — will not escape the gender injustices that are likely to arise in our new administration. So they took their place in the crowds alongside fellow activists, loudly echoing their sentiments every step of the way, as per the Women's March mission:

Some also used their celebrity status to push the message out even further by giving bold, impassioned speeches in front of the masses.

Scarlett Johansson at the Women's March on Washington. Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images.

But whether they were in front of a microphone, holding a sign, or sporting a pink pussy hat, their presence among the masses was inspiring. So much of the march was about inclusivity and sharing that purpose with like-minded celebrities reminded people that no one is above that concept.

Here are 27 activist celebrities who marched for the cause.

1. Ashley Judd gave a heart-stopping rendition of Nina Donovan's "Nasty Woman" poem.

2. Elizabeth Gilbert brought an appropriately revised copy of her book, "Eat, Pray, Love."

3. Ariana Grande marched with her female role model — her grandmother.

4. Connie Britton rocked a Planned Parenthood poster in Park City, Utah.

5. Katy Perry made a new feminist friend at the Los Angeles march.

6. Jessica Chastain casually handed out love buttons at the march in Washington, D.C. NBD.

Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images.

7. Drew Barrymore's daughter Frankie's sign was honest and on point.

8. If anyone messes with Melissa Benoist (aka Supergirl) and her vagina, they'll be very, very sorry.

9. I'd say Brie Larson's fans appreciated her presence among them.

10. America Ferrera's speech at the March on Washington kicked off the day. Watch it here.

Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images.

11. Ian McKellen marched in London with a poster of Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard. Needless to say, people couldn't get enough of him.

12. Scarlett Johansson's speech on how Planned Parenthood helped during her teen years brought the house down.

13. Gillian Anderson sported a "We the People" poster designed by Shepard Fairey.

14. Mandy Moore paired up with the inimitable Jane Fonda.

15. "Hidden Figures" actress Janelle Monae's speech says it all.

16. Maggie Gyllenhaal and her brother Jake did the Women's March on Washington sibling-style.

17. Amber Tamblyn and Amy Schumer mutually supported women's rights (and NASA).

18. Sometimes there's an actor who was in a movie your protest poster is quoted from, and everything's suddenly right with the world.

19. A highlight from one epic speech by Gloria Steinem.

20. Chelsea Handler, together with Charlize Theron and Mary McCormack, were "loud and proud" at Sundance in Park City, Utah.

21. Nick Offerman wore a pussy hat with pride (as well as some snow).

22. "Orange Is the New Black's" Jackie Cruz showed off major sign skills.

23. And Amy Poehler would not be Amy Poehler without creating a hilariously awkward situation.

24. Comedian Jenny Slate carried a sign for someone who couldn't make it to the march.

25. Alicia Keys took sisterhood selfies.

26. Zendaya was just one more in the over 500,000 person crowd in Washington, D.C.

27. And, finally, the feminist who started #HeForShe did her part for gender equality while hanging with her mom, taking photos of kids, and laughing with strangers who are now friends.

Seeing the icons we look up to marching for what's right is one heck of a reminder that we're far from alone in this fight.

Their presence at these protests makes a difference on many levels, but perhaps the most significant is showing we are all unified under one purpose. And we are going to keep defending each other and every group marginalized under Trump's administration.

Over the next four years, we will be up against a government that may try to strip us of our human rights at every turn. The more powerful, publicly known voices who stand with us and amplify our frustrations, the harder it will be for them to be ignored.

From Your Site Articles

Thousands gather to honor 57th anniversary of King's March on Washington and renew calls for equality - Upworthy ›

There's something about actress Jessica Chastain you wouldn't necessarily pick up on while watching her on the big screen or gracing red carpets.

She's shy. (Like really, truly shy.)

Photo by Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images.

“I’m almost having a breakdown right now,” she admitted to James Lipton recently during an interview on "Inside the Actors Studio."

"You’re still shy?” he asked her.

“Yes, I’m so shy,” she answered.

To her biggest fans, her shyness may not be news. She's talked publicly about it before.

As Chastain explained to Chelsea Handler on "Chelsea" earlier this year (emphasis added):

Photo by Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images.

Chastain's shyness may be surprising for a couple reasons.

For one, she doesn't seem like someone who's shy. She's an Academy Award-nominated actress who's owned the silver screen in blockbusters like "The Martian" and had us cracking up in "The Help." How can such a Hollywood A-lister be shy?

She's also wildly successful. And shyness isn't something we necessarily associate with successful people.

But maybe we should.

Photo by Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images.

As Chastain's career proves, being shy isn't a death sentence for ambitions. In fact, it could be just the opposite.

While shyness may be a hinderance to a person's success in some ways — like feeling nervous about meeting new people at a networking event, for instance — people who are shy tend to have other strengths in their corner.

Shy people tend to be great listeners and, thus, total rockstars when it comes to observing the world around them. As Greatist points out, research suggests people are more productive and creative when they're able to work privately — often a preference for shy and introverted folks (introversion and shyness are different, by the way). And on the more personal side, shy people are more likely to report having a "rich, complex inner life" too.

Whoever said shyness is a weakness clearly wasn't paying close enough attention.

There are many reasons to feel quite all right with being shy. But, according to Chastain, that should never stop you from living your life out loud.

Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

“You don’t know if you just don't do it," she told Handler. "If you’re feeling shy or feeling whatever, just throw yourself out there.And maybe it actually changes who you are."