Jessica Chastain ensured that the intimate scenes in Dreams were shot in a way that was “protective” of her.
Jessica Chastain ensured that she felt protected during erotic scenes in Dreams.
The 48-year-old actress stars in Michel Franco’s film as Jennifer McCarthy – a wealthy socialite who is having an affair with undocumented immigrant Fernando Rodriguez (Isaac Hernandez) – and explained that the movie’s intimate scenes were necessary for the sake of the story.
Asked if she was nervous about the sex scenes, Jessica quipped to Collider: “Yeah, I was absolutely… It’s like, ‘Ugh, do I really want to do a sex scene with a professional ballet dancer?’ That is so complicated and difficult.”
The Eyes of Tammy Faye star continued: “For example, the staircase scene, it was my request. They were all in there, all the sex scenes, and I had asked Michel to explain what each one means and how it furthers the story.
“The staircase scene initially was supposed to be in the living room, and when we got into the living room, it’s all exposed windows. I just was like, ‘Okay, I know how you shoot. I don’t know how we shoot this in a way that feels protective of me. Can we find another place in the house?’
“And what I love about the staircase scene is we really feel like we are watching something that we shouldn’t see, but the reality is, there’s not a lot happening. I’m covered the whole scene, but it feels incredibly evocative, and a lot of people talked about it.
“I think it goes to show that the more you hide, sometimes the stronger a scene like that can be. You don’t have to be gratuitous, basically.”
Jessica finds that she often performs intimate scenes but is comfortable doing so for the sake of the plot.
The Oscar-winning star said: “I feel like I do sex scenes all the time. Every project I’m in. Even Tammy Faye, I was doing a love scene where she was pregnant. I mean, it’s like something I do.
“But I’m happy with it because, also, it’s not something that I’m, like, wanting to do. It’s something that really challenges me and is difficult for me, and when something is challenging and difficult, I know that I need to kind of run to it.
“And usually those parts, like Scenes From A Marriage or Jennifer, things like this, are difficult and require that kind of intimacy and vulnerability.”
Jessica revealed that she chose to appear in Dreams as it gave her another opportunity to work with Franco, whom she had previously collaborated with on the 2023 film Memory.
Quizzed on what convinced her to join the project, the Molly’s Game star said: “Michel Franco, 100 per cent. I loved working with him on the film we did, Memory.
“He only shoots each scene as one take, so if you’re not great in that take, that’s it. There’s no editing that can fix the performance. You just show up, and you hope he chooses something that you’re decent in.
“But it’s really tough as an actor to work that way. It’s like live theatre, but I love it. I love how collaborative he is.”
Jessica Chastain made sure she was protected in Dreams intimate scenes
