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MEDIA: Jessica, when we last spoke to you for The Tree of Life, you were on crutches, but acted like it wasn't a big deal. Then a few weeks later, you were on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, still rocking the crutches. Was the injury more serious than you had let on?
JESSICA: Oookay, it was! I had surgery. So here, I'll show you guys... [unzips her boot and points out scars on her leg] It's covered, but there and there, and then I have a scar right here. I had surgery three weeks ago.
OCTAVIA: Tell them how you got it!
JESSICA: Well, everyone knows...I was really not smart, and I was motocrossing and I got in an accident, and I tore my ACL. So they took part of my hamstring to create the tendon again.
OCTAVIA: The day before her premiere! She is just fearless...I wouldn't have even gotten on the bike if somebody else was driving.
But are you doing okay now?
JESSICA: Yeah! It's a really difficult time right now, press-wise... [laughs] So I tried to schedule the surgery when I knew I was going to have two weeks to just relax. And so I did. And now, I'm rocking the heels again, and I don't have to wear crutches! So this is the first time I can wear high heels and not have crutches since May. I'm very excited. It's a small victory for me. [laughs]
Octavia, you sort of inspired the character of Minny because you had known author Kathryn Stockett ("Kitty") previously, right?
OCTAVIA: I knew [director Tate Taylor], actually, and he introduced me to Kitty.
JESSICA: On a very bad day. She was on a diet.
OCTAVIA: On a very bad day. I was on a diet, it was hot, we were in New Orleans. And I don't like to be hot. And if you're 100 pounds heavier, my God, you don't want to be hot! And I was hungry. And Kitty, at that time, was formulating, I found out later, The Help. And she knew that the voice of Aibileen would be inspired by her childhood caregiver, but I don't think she knew who the prototype for Minny was...[And] about six o'clock in the morning, [they got] these fresh buttermilk biscuits and fresh jam and chicory coffee, and they're just lapping it up. And I'm being really good on my diet. And then by ten o'clock, they're like, "Why don't we go shopping?" I'm like, "No, no, we need to go get something to eat." And I said it real sweetly at first. And they're like, "Well, we ate already." I'm like, "You ate! I didn't eat! I'm on a diet!!!" And so it was sort of that whole [exchange that inspired Minny]...
JESSICA: The heavens opened for Kitty at that moment. [laughs]
OCTAVIA: "Minny should be chubby, she should have a bad attitude, and hate being hot." And she kind of is.
 
And Jessica, how did you get involved with this project?
JESSICA: For me, I read the script first, and then from there read the novel...That was a wonderful surprise. Because during the casting of the film, Octavia and I, when shooting, were the unknowns. I mean, everyone else was kind of known for something, and we were just like so happy to be there. [laughs] And we fought very, very hard. Because a lot of women, of course, wanted to play Minny. Even though the character was inspired by Octavia, Octavia fought tooth and nail to play the role. And of course, people wanted to play Celia. So it's good to now see the film come out, and I feel like we've been through war together.
OCTAVIA: I know! It was fun though, working with Jessica. She and I became really close. Actually, it's funny, we hit it off in her audition...I felt like, when we first met, we had known each other all our lives. And cut to when I found out she was getting the role, I said, "Oh my God, I have to call her!" And then I realized, "I don't know her! I don't have her number!" [laughs] And then she told me the same thing. She said, "I was wondering if I should ask Tate for your number, because I wanted to talk to you..." [laughs]
JESSICA: But then as soon as we saw each other...Was it Mississippi the next time we saw each other?
OCTAVIA: It was in Mississippi the next time we saw each other.
JESSICA: It was like...
BOTH: [break out into excited screaming]
We can really see the bond between the both of you...
OCTAVIA: Awww...
JESSICA: Yeah...Part of the reason I like acting so much is I like the connections that you feel. You know, I like feeling close to people, the intimacy. And I love having that with another actor, or having scenes with them--that kind of invisible current that happens when you're acting together. And I absolutely felt that the first time we were reading together--this kind of "spontaneous, this could go anywhere, we have no idea, this is really exciting" feeling. And you get that from working with actors who are spontaneous and emotional and...
OCTAVIA: ...nuts... [laughs]
JESSICA: ...open. [laughs] So I really liked the part of Celia, but I became obsessed with playing the character when I read with [Octavia]. Because I knew the combination of the two of us would be unlike any other combination. There was just this intangible thing.
Was Celia the only role you auditioned for?
JESSICA: Yeah. That's when I first read the script. It was before anyone else was attached. Even though physically, I'm not the obvious choice for Celia... [laughs] I felt emotionally, I absolutely could relate to her, could understand her. I absolutely related to her loneliness and her kind of being an underdog and being bullied. You know, I was teased as a red-headed little girl. [laughs] So yeah, I absolutely connected. And that's the part I wanted.
It's interesting that Celia is totally colorblind and so easily accepts Minny as a friend...
JESSICA: Yeah. I was wondering [about] that, so I started doing my research. I'm a huge researcher. And I saw that Celia was from Sugar Ditch, Tennessee. So I researched what that was. And Sugar Ditch, Tennessee in the 1960s was one of the poorest areas in the country. And it was called Sugar Ditch as a joke, because there was a ditch of open sewage. It was just basically disgusting, and very, very poor. And the majority of the inhabitants were African American. So for a white girl to be from Sugar Ditch, Tennessee...I mean, she had a phenomenally poor, poor, poor upbringing. And also, she had to have been colorblind, because all of her friends would have been African American. I absolutely loved that, and I loved that it's a story about civil rights, but there's all this discrimination against the help, but here's this white woman who's being discriminated against--by Hilly, and at times, in the beginning, by Minny. Minny won't have lunch with her, she won't hug her, all because she's white. And I felt Celia also showed another side of discrimination.
Despite the film's sobering material, you both get to inject a lot of humor into the narrative, not the least of which involves Minny teaching Celia how to cook with Crisco...
JESSICA: Oh, I know where you're going with this...!
Coming into this project, did you know Crisco is apparently a magical substance that can do anything from curing baldness to balancing the budget?
JESSICA: [jokes] "How much did you know about Crisco, Octavia Spencer?"
OCTAVIA: [jokes] "Well, I only knew a little about Crisco..."
JESSICA: [to us] She knows nothing about Crisco. [laughs]
OCTAVIA: Yeah, I don't cook at all. My mom used to have it...I think.
JESSICA: She's said that I've cooked more for her than she's cooked for herself in her entire life. [laughs]
OCTAVIA: It's true. It's very, very true.
JESSICA: And what I love so much about the scene where she's cooking, it's the Crisco scene, is it was like she was doing a scene where she's playing a surgeon! [laughs] And she has all these things she has to remember. I mean, it was the most stressful day.
OCTAVIA: Very stressful!
JESSICA: Because even before a take, I'd be kind of goofing around, and just being silly Celia before a take. And she'd be like, [growls] "Don't talk to me right now!"
OCTAVIA: Beads of sweat! "I gotta do the chicken, I gotta put it in the bowl. I gotta shake the bag, and I gotta..." Yeah, I am not a cook at all! [laughs]
So unlike Minny, you've probably never baked a pie?
JESSICA: ...I don't think she'd know how to make it. [laughs]
OCTAVIA: [laughs] Exactly! Good Lord. I made a pie once. It was a sugar free, fat free, dairy free sweet potato pie.
JESSICA: That sounds awful.
OCTAVIA: [laughs] Listen...!
JESSICA: By someone who can't cook.
OCTAVIA: I know, it was a pancake! I took it to a friend's Thanksgiving, and Tate was there. And he was like, "What is this?" It was literally as thin as a pancake, but inside, a full pie crust. And I'm like, "I know, but I said I would bring the pie." [laughs]
JESSICA: At that point, you just abandon ship and go buy a pie.
OCTAVIA: I know, but I was so proud of myself for making a sugar free, dairy free [pie]...Me and my diet incarnations. So there you go.
Octavia, how did you meet Tate?
OCTAVIA: We met on A Time to Kill. It was filmed in Canton, Mississippi, like 15 minutes away from Jackson, his hometown. And when I heard that he was moving out to LA, I said, "Well, I'm going to move out to LA!" He had a free gig, he was housesitting. And I had to find a gig where I was housesitting. And that was sort of our [thing]--we're very, very competitive, but in a sibling sort of way. At least, I was with him. I don't think he was that way with me...We lived together for four years, but we've known each other for close to 17. And I moved in with him because he's one of the best cooks you will ever know, and he's very social. I don't cook and I'm not social. So I said, "You're buying a house? Well, I'm going to move in, I'm going to be your roommate." Because I thought I would get a lot of meals out of it. Because he said cooking relaxes him. He needs to relax more--that's all I'm going to say. He did not cook a lot. But yeah, we lived together for four years. And it was fun. I mean, we've been a part of each other's dreams, and he's seen me laugh and cry about not getting the part. Same thing with him. We've been through a lot.
JESSICA: Like brother and sister.
OCTAVIA: Yeah. And Brunson Green, one of the film's producers...He's also been a part of that. I've known him for 17 years.
Jessica, Celia struggles with the way society values her based on her abilities as a homemaker. How do you think she manages to gain a sense of self-worth in spite of that battle? And by comparison, what gives you the strength to find value in yourself in terms beyond those that Hollywood defines?
JESSICA: Well, that's a good question. For Celia, I absolutely think Minny saves her life. I think if Celia hadn't met Minny, then she would have probably moved back to Sugar Ditch. She just wouldn't have been able to find her "worthiness." I mean, I know Celia has so much love to give. And the idea that she wants a baby so bad and she wants to be a mom so bad, and she has no place to channel that...I can't imagine what her life would have been like if she had no friends to give that to. So [with] Minny coming into her life, she has someone to love, you know? And she finds this great bond. For me...A lot of actresses, I'm learning...There is a lot of attention to physical appearance. And for me, it really helps that I didn't start acting in television, in film, and all these physical mediums as a teenager--that I got to go and study. Because I feel like I have something else to offer [other] than a physical thing. And I try to play characters where the physical thing changes, because I know my physical thing is going to change, and I hope that's okay. [laughs] Because it's not possible to be frozen.
OCTAVIA: Well, it is...It's just not attractive. [laughs]
JESSICA: [laughs] So I try to focus on the opposite. And I try to see my self-worth as an actress more than what Hollywood tries to put the value on.
You have an extraordinary number of films coming out in the near future, and some viewers feel like you've suddenly appeared out of nowhere...
JESSICA: [laughs] Hello, world!
And Octavia, you've been working for quite a while...Given your different perspectives, do you both feel that The Help is a good showcase for your talents, and that it will reach a wide audience?
OCTAVIA: Well, let me just say, Jessica Chastain has quite a few showcases. She's completely different in everything. I just saw a movie that she did, Jolene. If you have a moment, you should Netflix that. She's amazing in it! [to Jessica] I actually wrote an article about you...
JESSICA: [laughs] Are you serious?
OCTAVIA: Yeah. [to us] Sorry, that was an aside. [laughs]
JESSICA: [to us] I'm excited because even as an audience member, I feel like Octavia, in anything she's in, has only been given like the tiniest moment, but it brings so much life and joy to what she's doing. And to be honest, she hasn't been given that many opportunities, and there aren't that many opportunities and roles out there. And I'm so excited that everyone's going to be able to see this film, because hopefully it will create more opportunities for wonderful actresses like Octavia, who has been working a long time.
OCTAVIA: Thank you, Jessica! [to us] Print that!
JESSICA: [laughs] For me, it does feel like [my recent visibility is] out of nowhere, and I do feel like it's like an overnight thing. But it's very strange because I've been doing theatre for so long, and I went to Juilliard, and I've made these films over the past four years. And they just now, for some strange reason, are coming out one after the other. It's crazy. But it's really exciting because I do feel like I've been given the opportunity to play different kinds of women--physically, different accents--and I have fingers crossed that that will continue, and people won't typecast me. That's where I'm headed now. So that's my take on it. [to Octavia] But what's your take?
OCTAVIA: I think that was a pretty brilliant take! [laughs] You know, I am keeping an open mind and really not anticipating much. That way, if you have no expectations, then everything is a win, and you can't be disappointed by anything. So I am certainly grateful to have had this opportunity to work with this lady and that fantastic cast that we have. That's why every time the doors open and you hear us walking through the halls, it's like, [screams excitedly].
JESSICA: "I love your shoes!"
OCTAVIA: "Oh my God, it's so good to see you!" Because we really had such a great camaraderie. So those types of experiences are once in a lifetime. We hope it'll be more going down the road, but I'm just excited to be in the moment right now with this one.
Thank you both for your time.
OCTAVIA: Thank you, guys!
JESSICA: Thank you so much!
OCTAVIA: You guys are fun!
JESSICA: I know!
OCTAVIA: We can't let them know that we're having a good time, Jessica.
JESSICA: I know. I have to get up really slowly. [laughs]
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