Jessica Chastain says she'd skip Oscars red carpet to support Tammy Faye makeup team

It would take a biblical force to get Jessica Chastain to skip her Eyes of Tammy Faye makeup team's category call at the Oscars.

"I will absolutely be present when the makeup category is being called, and if that means I'm not doing press on the red carpet or ABC or whatever it is, then so be it," the current Best Actress frontrunner said on Thursday's episode of the Next Best Picture podcast.

Chastain's decision comes in response to proposed changes to the Oscar broadcast, specifically the Academy's plan to move eight categories to an hour prior to the live show and pre-tape and edit in those acceptance speeches into the main broadcast.

"The most important thing for me is to honor the incredible artisans who work in our industry," Chastain continued. "So much attention is on the actors, we're like the face in some ways, because you go to a movie and you see us. A lot of people don't understand how beyond an actor a performance is. Look at this incredible makeup team, Tammy Faye goes through three decades."

To hone the distinct look of the film's titular televangelist across 30 years, Chastain worked with the film's Oscar-nominated team of artists, Stephanie Ingram, Linda Dowds, and Justin Raleigh, on a variety of colorful looks that captured the religious icon's aesthetic.

She underwent hours of prosthetic work before shooting each day, which reportedly did permanent damage to her skin, all to transform deeper into the character.

"Jessica has more of an angular face, and Tammy had a much fuller, rounder face," Raleigh previously said of transforming Chastain, explaining that he used 3-D modeling and traditional casting to mold pieces for the star's body. The key pieces, he added, were "cheek appliances that would widen her face" in addition to a "prosthetic to fill in the dimple in her chin."

"It's incredibly important to honor all aspects of cinema beyond just the actors," she said on the podcast. "I will be 100 percent present."

Prior to Chastain, directors Jane Campion, Steven Spielberg, and Guillermo del Toro also spoke out against the Academy pre-taping select categories.

"I disagree with the decision made by the executive committee. I feel very strongly that this is perhaps the most collaborative medium in the world. All of us make movies together, we become a family where one craft is just as indispensable as the next," Spielberg said in a statement. "I feel that at the Academy Awards there is no above the line, there is no below the line. All of us are on the same line bringing the best of us to tell the best stories we possibly can. And that means for me we should all have a seat at the supper table together live at 5."

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