Actor Jessica Chastain has risen the ranks in Hollywood to become one of the industry’s most notable and influential talents. And although she’s starred in many memorable films over the years, finding work wasn’t as easy in the beginning of her career.
Jessica Chastain once considered changing her looks to find more work as an actor
The road to stardom wasn’t easy for Chastain. During the Oscar-winner’s more humble beginnings, she found herself having a hard time getting hired in the film industry. From 2003 to 2007, the actor wasn’t able to nab herself an audition. She considered one of her lowest points to be trying to earn a role on a popular 90s television show.
“I remember going in to ‘pre-screen’ for an audition for a guest spot on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and thinking it was just so humiliating,” she said in a 2013 interview with The Telegraph.
The barrier between Chastain and success wasn’t her acting ability, however. Many directors actually took a liking to Chastain after screening her. But her looks were a bit too unique for what others were looking for at the time.
“A lot of the time the feedback would be ‘the director really liked Jessica but he’s decided to cast a model’. That was the worst: I didn’t know I was auditioning for model parts – I thought I was an actress,” she said,
Chastain’s hair color didn’t help matters. Most didn’t know what to do with the actor given her red hair. Chastain considered dyeing her hair color to improve her fortune, but later thought against the idea.
“Someone suggested I go blonde,” she recalled. “And I really thought about it, but in LA one constantly finds oneself in rooms with only blondes.”
Despite the odds stacked against her, Chastain was eventually able to win over directors and audiences alike without having to change her features at all.
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Jessica Chastain still mostly refuses to dye her hair
Pursuing an acting career wasn’t the only time Chastain considered changing her hair color to fit in more. Growing up, the actor toyed around with the idea of dyeing her hair in order to fit in with the crowd. But as she matured, Chastain felt her unique features were meant to be celebrated instead of shunned. So much so that the actor still mostly refuses to change her hair color if she can help it.
“As a child, I didn’t want to be different — I wanted to look the same as everyone else because I didn’t want to be singled out,” Chastain once said in an interview with Refinery 49. “I was ridiculed for having red hair; for having freckles. But whatever you are ridiculed about that makes you different is what you’ll celebrate in the future. If I wanted to dye my hair, I could, but I realized that’s who I am, and my differences [make me] special.”
Jessica Chastain prefers wigs to dye jobs
Because of her busy career, Chastain finds wigs to be a better alternative than dye jobs if she absolutely needs to change her hair.
“The one way to change my physicality is through wigs,” Chastain said. “Wigs are amazing because they can not only change your hair color, they can also change your hairline and the texture. When I sit in a makeup chair and the hairstylist puts a wig on me, I feel the character collecting. It’s not for vanity’s sake that I use wigs; I see it as a tool to help transform.”
When she does alter her hair, she finds that the changes could yield dramatic results for her appearance. Like when Chastain decided to sport a more brunette look for some of her movies.
“You know what really changes me a lot? Dark hair,” she added. “I went darker for Molly’s Game, Mama, and Crimson Peak. Those have been the most transformational. Things I never notice about myself, like how light my eyes are, all of a sudden show up. When any kind of transformation happens in terms of a character, your face starts to morph into that character.”
