In Aaron Sorkin's film Molly's Game, Jessica Chastain plays real-life former Olympic skier Molly Bloom, who used her intellect to launch a poker game empire. "I think there are many, many layers to this story," Chastain says. "Aaron chose to tell this story about a woman in an industry that was ruled by rich, powerful men and how she had to navigate their rules to try and find success when it would change based on their whims."

Jessica Chastain in 'Molly's Game'Jessica Chastain in 'Molly's Game'

Chastain found Bloom's story fascinating, and loved that this was a rare script about a woman who makes her own decisions. "She's not there serving the male characters in the story," Chastain says. "She has her own wants and desires. Aaron Sorkin is already a filmmaker in his own right and so successful. He didn't have to write a movie about a woman's journey, and he did. That to me is so touching and inspiring, and I hope other artists in the industry will take note of it. I hope they'll know that you can tell a story about a woman and it doesn't have to be this traditional, stereotypical role of what a woman was in the past."

Watch the trailer for 'Molly's Game' here:

For the actress, expressing the character included both the brainy dialogue and the power costumes. "How she looked was the ultimate equaliser," Chastain says. "In a room full of powerful men, her meticulous appearance levelled the playing field. Her dress was her armour, and she dressed carefully: sexy but not vulgar. I had a lot of fun working with costume designer Susan Lyall and pulling inspiration from pop culture icons."

Of course, Sorkin's word-heavy dialogue was a challenge, and Chastain also had to record an extensive voiceover, which reveals Molly's perspective and personality. "Actually, I really liked doing that and I'm glad we spent so much time on it," Chastain says. "My favourite thing is that when we finally finished the voiceover, I said to Aaron, 'Now, as a gift to me, I want you to take the most dramatic scene in the movie and voice Molly for me.' And he did! I filmed it on my phone!"

While the real-life Molly Bloom circulated with the likes of DiCaprio, Affleck and Maguire, none of the starry poker players are named in the film. "For me this movie is not about gossip," she says. "It's the story of this woman who makes a lot of mistakes and gets knocked down a lot but keeps standing back up."