Jessica Chastain And Octavia Spencer Team Up Against Inequality
Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer are two of Hollywood's best performers. The ladies' friendship made them inspirational fighters in the war against inequality.
Paying It Forward
Chastain reportedly asked Spencer if she was interested in working on a project with her. The Shape of Water actress and current Best Supporting Actress nominee stated that she would love to work with Chastain again, but forewarned the Molly's Game and Zero Dark Thirty actress that it would be hard for her to earn the same paycheck as Chastain. However, Chastain decided to help her friend and went on a mission.
"She said, 'Octavia we're gonna get you paid on this film.... You and I are gonna to be tied together. We're gonna be favored nations, and we're gonna make the same thing.' Fast forward to last week, and we're making five times what we asked for," Spencer told The Huffington Post at the 2018 Sundance Festival.
Spencer revealed to the audience at festival's Women Breaking Boundaries panel that she has set her goals to be paid as much as her male colleagues.
Chastain As An Activist
In addition to helping Spencer receive a better pay rate, the Interstellar alum has become a significant voice as fighting inequality in Hollywood.
She chided Mark Wahlberg and the All the Money in the World team when it was revealed that Michelle Williams earned less than $1,000 for the reshoots, while Wahlberg received $1.5 million.
Chastain also told the audience at the Palm Springs Film Festival that a significant change was coming so that women would be able to speak up for themselves. That movement lead to the creation of both the anti-harassment sexual movement known as the Time's Up Campaign and its respective Time's Up Legal Defense Fund.
Chastain also mentioned during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show that a significant actor e-mailed her and told her to take it easy on the tweeting. While Chastain did not reveal the actor's identity, she vowed to continue to fight as a part of the Time's Up Movement.
The Help Roots
Chastain and Spencer met on the set of the 2011 fan-favorite and Oscar-nominated big screen adaption of Kathryn Stockett's book The Help. Chastain portrayed the ditsy Celia Rae Foote while Spencer portrayed the spitfire maid Minny Jackson. The film received numerous nominations from the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.
During the 2012 Academy Awards, when both women were nominated for the Best Supporting Actress award, it was Chastain who immediately hugged Spencer when Christian Bale announced that Spencer won the Oscar.
