Jessica Chastain, Sean Hayes, Peter Gross. Shutterstock (3)
Jessica Chastain and Sean Hayes revealed their biggest “nightmare” — and admittedly “gross” — on stage moments of all time.
“I threw up [on stage]. I threw up and I swallowed it. And no one knew,” Chastain, 46, said during the most recent episode of the “SmartLess” podcast. “From then on I was like, ‘I’m not eating within three hours of the show. I’ll just drink water.’ I don’t know if I was nervous — I was kind of sobbing and I, like, leaned over and it happened. And I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ You can’t let it out of your mouth.”
Chastain added that because there was no intermission, “for the rest of the show I couldn’t tell anyone because I was on a chair facing the audience.” That meant she couldn’t even warn her costar before they shared an intimate smooch.
“I had to kiss someone! It was a nightmare and I couldn’t explain,” she told hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Hayes, 53. “And then the second we had the curtain call and the curtain came down, I said, ‘You guys I am so sorry. I vomited.’”
Chastain explained that while it was a “closed-mouth kiss” that night, it was still a “sensual” one. “Even talking to someone I was just so [embarrassed],” she said.
After Chastain detailed her most uncomfortable Broadway moment, Hayes offered his own worst memory.
“In [my] show [Good Night, Oscar] I have to scream at Peter Gross. We get in a screaming match and we’re literally nose to nose,” he said. “And one night, this was just a couple weeks ago, I don’t know what happened but so much saliva came spewing from my mouth. It was all over his face.”
He continued: “And then that night he was so sweet about it. He goes. ‘Hey, can I talk to you about that? … Is there any way you could just spit a little less when we argue?’ And I was like, ‘Absolutely!’ He was so sweet about it.”
The twosome may have nightmare stories to share, but both Hayes and Chastain have had an incredibly successful few years. In addition to “SmartLess” being one of the most listened-to podcasts, Hayes took home the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in June. Hayes stars as Oscar Levant in the Broadway play, which opened at the Belasco Theatre in April.
Chastain, meanwhile, nabbed her own nomination for a 2023 Tony for her performance in A Doll’s House, which premiered at the Big Apple’s Hudson Theatre in March and ran through June. She also won an Academy Award and Screen Actors Guild Award last year for her portrayal of country singer Tammy Wynette in the miniseries George & Tammy.
“To have the most incredible past couple of years … It’s also been more of me producing the projects,” Chastain told Vanity Fair earlier this month. “As women get older in the industry, we need to become more active in producing projects in order for us to have a place here — because no one else will do it for us.”
She added: “I watched the industry for a long time before I had the opportunity of working in it, and I gathered a lot of information. It has changed quite a bit,” Chastain said of how Hollywood has evolved in recent years. “The whole #MeToo culture, which I am appreciative of, the idea that there’s now more resources for people who feel like they’re in an unhealthy, abusive situation. “
Now, Chastain is ready to slow down — and is considering taking on a slightly less emotionally taxing role.
“We did 137 performances but [A Doll’s House] was pretty emotional. There was heavy crying for, like, an hour each show. It’ll have another life next year but much shorter runs otherwise I’ll lose my mind. … I just become so raw,” Chastain quipped during her “SmartLess” podcast appearance. “Which is why I’m looking forward to playing another Zero Dark Thirty character who really doesn’t give a s—t. She’s just walking through. I need to play that next.”
