Ever bunked off school because your class was doing Shakespeare that day, and you just wanted to stay at home watching TV or playing video games? Jessica Chastain was the exact opposite. She struggled academically, feeling no connection or enthusiasm for traditional subjects, and only really coming alive when a drama class rolled around. She considered herself, in her own words, to be both a 'loner' and a 'misfit'.
Because she was a poor student, Chastain didn't qualify for graduation. However, she later obtained an adult diploma, and gained entry to the exclusive Julliard School in New York via a scholarship that had been set up years earlier by Julliard alumni Robin Williams - who had himself qualified for the school via a scholarship. There, she finally found both her confidence and her true calling and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2003.