Chastain was worried her stance on assault could hurt career

Speaking with The New York Times about her Golden Globe nomination, Chastain said she was afraid that her career would be hurt after she spoke out against the many alleged harassers and assaulter's in the entertainment industry.

The actor has taken a strong stand on social media ever since the first allegations against disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein were reported by The Times more than two months ago.

"To be honest, I'm mainly surprised about my nomination. As an actor, I have a lot of fear, thinking that if I speak my mind, or something that feels like it deviates from the norm as a woman, am I going to be made to disappear in my industry?"

"When the article came out about Weinstein, I immediately started tweeting. I've got a good group of girlfriends on WhatsApp, and I said, 'I'm really terrified I'm destroying my career right now. I wonder if people will still see me as an actor and want to work with knowing I have these opinions.'" Chastain said.

The 40-year-old actor credits her friends for helping her stay strong.

"In the way that only good girlfriends can do, they helped me eliminate fear and understand that the only way to change something that's wrong is to change it, not ignore it. And rather than saying it's an industry-wide issue, it's more than that. It's a society."