Jessica Chastain Wins at SAG Awards

“Wow. I’m really surprised… completely stunned!”

Jessica Chastain (Class of 1998) won “Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role” at the SAG Awards that were held this past Sunday, for her role as Tammy Faye in The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

“It was a dream of mine to play Tammy Faye, she was a real trailblazer,” said Chastin as she was trying to calm herself from the shock of winning. The film has long since been a passion project of hers, serving as one of the film's producers and admitting during her speech that, “I worked on this project for ten.”

She closed out her acceptance speech with an uplifting message to those who are up-and-coming in the business of acting, “There were years of studying and auditioning and not getting jobs and I know what that feels like and what the loneliness of what that feels like and so for those of you who are struggling and feeling unsee, I just want you to know to keep going because you are one job away, I promise!”

Chastain has also been nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her portrayal of Tammy Faye.

Watch the full acceptance speech here.