Who is she?
A 29-year-old from California who is possibly the most prolific actor you haven't yet heard of. Not for long – take your pick of her breakout roles this year.
What's she in?
Loads. The biggie is Terrence Malick's epic Tree of Life – arthouse's Avatar in the hype stakes. Then there's Coriolanus, directed by Ralph Fiennes; word is she holds her own against the mighty Vanessa Redgrave. She's an Israeli Mossad agent in The Debt. Oh, and Al Pacino was so taken with her ("a total revelation") when they appeared on stage in Salome, he's made a film of it.
We get it. She's busy. So why haven't we heard of her before?
Bad timing. For some reason her movies have taken a while to come out. She filmed her scenes for Tree of Life with Brad Pitt three years ago.
Must be frustrating
Mostly for her mum, who keeps telling her friends that yes, her daughter really has made a film with Brad Pitt, honestly. But Chastain says the wait has probably done her a favour in auditions: "I haven't been typecast, because none of my work has come out."
Is she spilling the beans on Malick?
And unleash forces scarier than Mossad? No way. Besides, she was more intimidated working with Pitt. She did watch all Malick's films back-to-back the day before her audition though. He wasn't present, but saw the tapes and she was summoned to Texas to meet him. She was only given a script after she got the part. Cath Clarke
