Jessica Chastain believes ‘The 355’ reframe female spies in film
THE film industry has got the female spies wrong, says ‘The 355’ actress Jessica Chastain.
The 44-year-old actress stars in the upcoming spy flick with Lupita Nyong’o and Penelope Cruz and feels that the movie does more than present female spies as ‘honeypots’.
Jessica told Empire magazine: “I feel like the film industry has really got female spies wrong. They’ve portrayed them as honeypots, and that’s not the reality of the situation.
“Women weren’t being used for their bodies, they were being used for their minds, which is a more interesting concept.”
The actress explained that she has become more determined to take on more challenging roles as her career has progressed – leading her to explore a wide variety of genres.
Jessica said: “In the past seven years, I’ve really looked at the projects I’ve joined and the parts that I’ve played in terms of, ‘What difference am I making? How can I shape a conversation?’
“I never really had the dream of being an action hero at all, but the reality is I’m excited to have 13-year-old girls and 13year-old boys see women in these roles.
It’s very important for society. We’ve moved against the status quo, and we’re creating our own narrative for it. The film is, in some sense, a political act.”