Jessica Chastain Teaches Jimmy Kimmel Her Other Mommy Smile
Jessica Chastain demonstrates the disturbingly simple trick behind her viral Other Mommy expression — complete with a perfectly timed tear and one slightly traumatised Jimmy Kimmel.
Jessica Chastain’s Other Mommy smile looks deeply unnatural on screen. The worrying part is how quickly she can turn it on.
Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Chastain demonstrated the expression she developed for her dual role in Other Mommy, where she plays both Bela’s real mother, Ursula, and the sinister supernatural entity copying her appearance. Her trick is to imagine something wearing human skin incorrectly: hold as much tension as possible through the body, force the smile and let the rest of the face suggest that something is very wrong.
Then she added a tear.
Chastain produced one almost instantly while staring into the camera, prompting a stunned Kimmel to question how she had managed it so casually. Her wonderfully simple response: she is, after all, a trained actor.
The conversation also covered Chastain’s love of Halloween, her temporary blonde look and an RV adventure, but the Other Mommy demonstration understandably stole the show.
Directed by Rob Savage and produced by James Wan, Other Mommy adapts Josh Malerman’s bestselling novel Incidents Around the House. Arabella Olivia Clark stars as eight-year-old Bela, who begins communicating with the creature hiding inside her home and wearing her mother’s face.
Jay Duplass, Dichen Lachman, Arian Moayed and Karen Allen also star.
Other Mommy is now playing in theaters.
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- Other MommyFilm · 2026
