While Jessica Chastain has delivered many great performances over the past decade, her work in The Eyes of Tammy Faye as Tammy Faye Bakker might be her best yet. While watching director Michael Showalter’s film, I was blown away by Chastain’s transformation into Bakker with the way she used everything at her disposal to vanish into the role. Chastain has previously talked about how she spent many years studying Bakker’s mannerisms and vocal inflections, and it shows. At times when she's wearing the clothing and makeup you might forget it’s not Bakker on screen. If you’re a fan of watching great actors deliver incredible performances, look no further than The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

Shortly after seeing the film I spoke to Chastain about making the film. During the interview, she talked about what it was like on set the last day of filming after spending so long working on getting this project made, if she likes to stay in character while filming, why the singing scenes were so stressful for her, how she gets ready for a big emotional or dramatic scene, and more.

Check out what she had to say in the player above and exactly what we talked about is listed below. The Eyes of Tammy Faye opens in theaters this weekend.

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Image via Searchlight Pictures

RELATED: ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’ Review: Jessica Chastain Stuns as the Famed Televangelist | TIFF 2021

Finally, if you haven’t seen the trailer, The Eyes of Tammy Faye is based on the 2000 documentary of the same name directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, and the film is an intimate look at the extraordinary rise, fall and redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker. In the 1970s and 80s, Tammy Faye and her husband, Jim Bakker (Andrew Garfield), were televangelists who rose from humble beginnings to create the world’s largest religious broadcasting network and a theme park. The duo were revered for their message of love, acceptance and prosperity, but it wasn’t long before financial improprieties, scheming rivals, and a sex scandal tore their marriage apart and toppled their carefully constructed empire. The film also stars Cherry Jones, Gabriel Olds, Fredric Lehne, Chandler Head, and Vincent D’Onofrio.

Jessica Chastain

  • What was the last day of filming like after spending so many years trying to get the film made?
  • How they shot a lot of the puppet stuff on the last day.
  • Does she stay in character on and off set and how was it shooting Tammy Faye?
  • How does she get ready to film a big emotional or dramatic scene?
  • Why the singing scenes were so stressful for her.
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Image via Searchlight Pictures