Jessica Chastain Calls Nora in 'A Dolls House' One her Hardest Roles

Jessica Chastain counts her performance as Nora in the current Broadway revival of "A Doll's House," as one of the "hardest things" she has ever done.

That's saying a lot from the woman who played Tammy Faye Baker and Tammy Wynette.

So hard, that she admits wanting to skip her final bow because she was so emotionally drained at the end of the two-hour play.

"There are often times I've come out for the curtain call, not ready for the curtain call, and that's been difficult. I've actually asked the director if it was possible for me to not do a curtain call because I felt not only from just not being ready and I needed a moment to calm down from the last scene," Chastain said.

The Oscar-winning actor is currently appearing the limited run of the groundbreaking 1879 Henrik Ibsen play that was so controversial for its time that many actors would not perform the play's ending because it challenged the sacredness of marriage, gender roles, and women's rights.

"I hope that anyone can relate to this play. Yes. It's this great piece of feminist literature, but it's I think the way Jamie has staged it and thought about it in the way Amy's adapted it, it goes beyond gender. It really speaks to anyone who is playing a part to please a person in order to have power in a society that denies them freedom and agency," she said.

Chastain saw the subject as a worthy entry back to the stage because it still resonates today with representation and authenticity.

"I'm sending out into the public and maybe hopefully, hopefully inspiring people when they're coming to the play? Are they going to reexamine their lives and how they're living their life? And then thirdly, like, what am I going to learn about myself and what challenges? It's going to be really challenging to me. And this for sure, checked every single box."

Chastain will appear in "A Doll's House" until June 10 at Broadway's Hudson Theater.