Jessica Chastain Played Donald Trump’s Sister for Free in ‘Armageddon Time’
variety.comManori Ravindran International EditorJessica Chastain turned down a fee for her surprise cameo as Donald Trump’s politician sister, Maryanne Trump, in James Gray’s “Armageddon Time” — but she had one condition.The actor told Variety that she agreed to play a small part in the Focus Features movie, but only if her involvement was never formally announced.“Armageddon Time” is based on writer-director Gray’s own childhood in the early 1980s at the Kew-Forest School in New York City — where Donald Trump also attended in his youth.
Co-starring Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong as the film’s young protagonist Paul’s parents, and Anthony Hopkins as his grandfather, the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last month where Chastain’s cameo surprised audiences. “When James reached out to me, I hadn’t read anything yet, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it,’ because he told me it’s his story.
I love when someone wants to tell a personal story,” said Chastain, who was speaking to Variety in London as part of a Paramount+ event for her new TV series with Michael Shannon, “George & Tammy.”“I committed to it way before.
I actually did it for free. They sent me an offer and I said, ‘No, no, put the money back into the movie. I’m just going to do it for free.
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