Jessica Chastain Has the Last Laugh After 2023 SAG Awards Slip

Jessica Chastain recovered like a pro after her slip at the 2023 SAG Awards. 

After winning The Actor for her outstanding performance in the limited series George & Tammy on Feb. 26, the actress headed up the stage steps in her Zuhair Murad gown to accept the honor. While she stumbled on the stairs, she quickly caught herself and continued to deliver a heartfelt speech.

Chastain even showed she could laugh off the small mishap. As she wrote on Instagram Feb. 27, "The shock of last night really swept me off my feet!" 

All jokes aside, the Oscar winner—who played Tammy Wynette opposite Michael Shannon's George Jones in the Showtime series about the country music singers—then took a moment to reiterate her gratitude to the members of SAG-AFTRA for the award.

"To my fellow SAG members, THANK YOU," she continued. "It means so much to be recognized by you. I am honored to be able to bring the story of #GeorgeAndTammy to you. I loved playing Tammy Wynette."

In addition to showing her appreciation for co-star Shannon and series creator Abe Sylvia, Chastain thanked Wynette and Jones' daughter, Georgette Jones Lennon, for "trusting me with your mom's story."

The star, who is now acting on Broadway in A Doll's House, also made it clear the tumble at the L.A. awards show didn't ruin her night, adding in her post, "I'm back in NY and still over the moon."

Chastain was nominated along with The English's Emily Blunt, Inventing Anna's Julia Garner, DAHMER - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story's Niecy Nash-Betts and The Dropout's Amanda Seyfried. During her acceptance speech, the Zero Dark Thirty alum gave a shout-out to her fellow nominees.

"I have seen all of your performances," she said, "and I am in awe of you and your talent."

Reflecting on her journey as an actress, Chastain looked back at her time at Juilliard and told a story about a time the late Philip Seymour Hoffman spoke to one of her classes.

"He told us all of his frustrating stories about auditions, and he encouraged us to keep going even when it felt like no one was watching us," she recalled. "And at the end of the talk, he said, 'I look forward to working with each of you.' And it really shocked me because it was like he brought it into being. And a few years later, it came true, and I had the opportunity to do a play with him."

The reason she shared the memory now? "I'm telling the story now because it reminds me of how powerful our mind is, and that we are what our thoughts create," Chastain added. "So I just wanna tell everyone who might be struggling at home, to all the actors that I get to meet, keep going, you're one job away, I look forward to working with you, I'll see you on set and I love you."