JESSICA CHASTAIN ON CHOPIN & COFFEE
NEW YORK— Not surprisingly, Jessica
Chastain said her rationale for tackling a frightening and insane character in Guill
ermo del Toro’s “Crimson Peak” was, “I have never played a character like her.” While the Oscar nominee also said she “underestimated” how tough it was to play Lucille in the horror thriller (opening Friday), it was a “curveball” request from director and writer del Toro that really threw her for a loop.
During a chat in a Manhattan hotel suite recently, Chastain explained that “I read the script and, yes, thought Lucille was different and all that, but then Guillermo told me, ‘Oh yes, and I want you to play the piano.’ ”
“I said, ‘OK.’ But then he said— very emphatically—‘No, no, I mean I really want you to play the piano. I want you to be seen in the film playing the piano— and for real! I want the audience to see that it is really you playing the piano. … Oh, and by the way, I want it to be Chopin!’”
Chastain burst out in laughter recalling that conversation and her reaction— telling the filmmaker that she had never played the piano “in my entire life!”
Chastain embarked on what she called a “really grueling” four months of hardcore piano lessons.
“The first time I saw the finished movie and saw me playing the piano as Lucille, I had to admit, Guillermo was right. Even though I was cursing his name for four months, I realized it was worth it in the end.”
When asked what she would always remember from filming “Crimson Peak,” Chastain didn’t hesitate. “I’d have to say it was filming the ending sequence, which is visually gorgeous but pretty difficult to shoot.”
Feeling she needed to give her eyes “a very wild and crazy expression” the actress — who doesn’t regularly drink coffee— requested six cups of espresso.
“I just wanted to be so wired. I knew it would give me the right look. So just before we shot that scene, I downed all six espressos, one right after the other.
“I think that is one day I will remember for the rest of my life, because I was pretty caffeinated! Plus, I didn’t sleep well for like two days afterward!”