Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain's Real-Life Friendship

Their Kismet Meeting

As of 2018, the duo has only appeared in one film together: The Help. Jessica recounted meeting Octavia Spencer during the audition process: "I went in to auditions and my first meeting with [director/writer] Tate Taylor, and I read with Octavia Spencer," she said. "Our very first scene that we read . . . The scene just ended, and it's that moment just before you break character, and we're looking at each other, smiling, and she says, 'I love you' and I said, 'I love you!'"

In another interview, Jessica revealed that they spent time together even while they weren't shooting. "I cooked so much for Octavia Spencer, who plays Minny. She would come over to my apartment when we were shooting and I would bake her my vegan version of Southern food." (Jessica is vegan, for the record.) "When we finished shooting, I bought her a cookbook and an apron, hoping it would inspire her to cook a meal for me."

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Award Season Reunions

Image Source: Getty / Lester Cohen

In January of 2012, Jessica and Octavia were all over award season for their delightful film. They popped up together at the Critics' Choice Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and of course, the Oscars. Here they are having a very intimate pow-wow with Emma Stone, another costar from The Help.

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Big-Time Winners

Image Source: Getty / Christopher Polk

Octavia and Jessica also shared a couple awards! Together, they won for best acting ensemble at the Critics' Choice Awards and outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

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Octavia's Big Moment(s)

While it was cool to see the duo share wins for their ensemble awards, Octavia positively dominated 2012's award season in her own right. She won for best supporting actress at the SAG Awards, the Golden Globes, and the Oscars. You can see Jessica sharing her happiness (and expressing her love!) just before Octavia goes onstage to accept her groundbreaking win.

For the record, Jessica did receive an Oscar nomination, a Golden Globe nomination, and a SAG Award nomination. But since they were in the same category, she obviously didn't win. I imagine she was still over the moon to see her costar and friend take the cake.

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Beyond Award Season

Even though Octavia and Jessica didn't make any movies together between 2012 and 2018, it's clear they kept up their friendship. Even in January 2016, Jessica shared this sweet "date night" snap from an apparent Broadway showing of A View From the Bridge.

They even appeared in a snap together as recently as January 2018!

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Lovely Event Run-Ins

Image Source: Getty / Christopher Polk

Every time the two actresses pop up at the same event, you can bet they snuggle up for a photo opp. They posed together for a few shows during 2013's award season, and they've been spotted at the Toronto International Film Festival and a few other parties. Most recently, they had a red carpet run-in at the 2018 Golden Globes! (They were both nominated, of course.)

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Social Media Sweetness

In all the years since The Help, the ladies liberally tag each other on social media. In addition to a handful of appearances on each other's Instagram accounts, they've also just randomly responded to some seriously cute stuff. Jessica loved Octavia's appearance on The Ellen Show, while Octavia couldn't wait to see Jessica host SNL. They also tend to randomly compliment each other on their latest roles and accolades! And while Octavia missed Jessica's beautiful Italian wedding in June 2017, Octavia still offered congratulations on Instagram.

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The Staggering Salary Revelation

Image Source: Getty / Matt Winkelmeyer

At the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, Octavia revealed an incredible truth: Jessica has been instrumental in negotiating an equal salary for a new project they'd be working on. When Jessica approached Octavia with a project in March 2017, they had a serious talk about salary, and how much women of color make compared to white women. Jessica decided they would be tethered together for negotiations, so Octavia would be making just as much money.

"She had been underpaid for so long," Jessica wrote in a tweet. "When I discovered that, I realized that I could tie her deal to mine to bring up her quote. Men should start doing this with their female costars." In her own tweet, Octavia revealed that she's making five times her usual salary because Jessica stood with her.

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Their Sparkling New Project!

Image Source: Getty / Steve Granitz

So what, exactly, were they negotiating?! The pair will finally reunite in 2018 with a holiday comedy with Universal Pictures! We don't know much about the story, except that it "follows two women fighting the elements to make it home for Christmas." We can't wait to see these two close friends in the same film once more. Here's to many more years of friendship.

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