Jessica Chastain Reached Out to All Fellow Best Actress Nominees: 'I Sent Everyone Flowers'

"I'm excited to celebrate this moment with these other incredible women," she tells PEOPLE

Published on March 22, 2022 10:56 AM

Jessica Chastain is ready to live it up at the Oscars with her fellow nominees.

The star earned a Best Actress nomination for her performance as late televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, which she also produced. Chastain has been working to get the film made for a decade after seeing a documentary about Bakker early in her career.

"This means so much to me. For the longest time, actresses have really been waiting for someone to tell them when they're allowed to work, what they're allowed to do, how they're allowed to be seen, I guess in some way, or express," she says as part of PEOPLE's 2022 Oscars portfolio in this week's issue.

"It was the beginning of my career 10 years ago that I saw the documentary and I was like, 'You know what? This would make a really good movie I don't know how to make a film — I'm just an actress — so let me figure it out.' So I bought the rights," continues Chastain, 44.

"How incredible to be here and to have this recognized, a project that I really went on a limb for and a character that I just... a woman that I just fell in love with for everything that she stood for. And it kind of recognizes all aspects of my career so far."

"It's really fulfilling," she says.

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Also nominated for Best Actress are Olivia Colman for The Lost Daughter, Penélope Cruz for Parallel Mothers, Nicole Kidman for Being the Ricardos and Kristen Stewart for Spencer. Chastain says she reached out to each of them individually to congratulate them.

"This is gonna sound silly, but when I got nominated, I reached out, like, I FaceTimed [The 355 costar] Penélope, I called Olivia, I called Kristen and reached out to Nicole and sent everyone flowers," she says.

Previous winner Colman told Chastain about all the fun they'd have together on Oscars night, which is this Sunday.

"The funny thing is, I remember texting with Olivia after we had spoken. She's super funny. The way she described how she wanted to celebrate all of our nominations and how much fun we're gonna have, and celebrate together and party," Chastain says. "Because I can tell that she is actually someone who knows how to have a good time. That's the thing I'm looking forward to the most."

Chastain adds, "I'm excited to celebrate this moment with these other incredible women."

For more on this year's Oscar nominees, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now.