"The Martian" actress Jessica Chastain would like to see more strong female roles in the big screen, and while she considers it a good thing that there are more female superheroes being incorporated into the Hollywood mix, she has noticed something very upsetting.
"If you look at films like 'Elektra' and 'Aeon Flux,' the problem that studios have is that they try to make (expletive) women very sexualized," she said in an interview with Radio Times. "They have to be in some catsuit. But if you look at the most incredible female roles, like Ripley in 'Alien,' she is a very sexy woman but she's not wearing a lot of make-up. She's in a T-shirt and jeans. What's sexy about her is how capable she is. Same with Jennifer Lawrence in 'Hunger Games' - she's not wearing a catsuit, either."
This is a mistake that Hollywood needs to address immediately, she said, because women really need to see good role models in films and in television series.
"Studios have misjudged it in the past, and thought audiences weren't interested in seeing a woman in an action role who's a capable, intelligent woman and isn't only leaning on her sex," she lamented.
Marvel has actually offered Chastain a role in Robert Downey Jr.'s "Iron Man 3," but she turned it down because the role was that of a "boring civilian."
The actress also called out on "Les Miserables" star Russell Crowe's comments about mature women still have plenty of roles to pick from, despite what other female stars are claiming.
As for her, Chastain said that she would still remain picky in the roles she would portray. "If the female character isn't as interesting as the male character, I'm not interested. Linda Hamilton in 'Terminator 2' was incredible. I remember the opening shot of her in that tank top doing those pull-ups, and I remember being a little girl watching her and thinking, 'This is amazing. I want to be her,'" she said.
In Ridley Scott's sci-fi film "The Martian," Chastain plays Commander Lewis, the leader of a manned mission to Mars. She stars in the film together with Matt Damon, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, and many others.
Chastain has been very lucky in the roles she has taken on in the past, starring in movies such as "Interstellar," "The Help," "Zero Dark Thirty," and "A Most Violent Year," to count a few.
