Jessica Chastain ’s path to stardom began at age 7, after watching a production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

“My grandmother took me,” Chastain remembers. “It was the first time I realized it was a job that people could have, and after watching it, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m an actor.’”

On Sept. 4, that status will be permanently enshrined in showbiz history when she receives her very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . Even so, the journey from starry-eyed spectator to industry mainstay was anything but a straight line for the actress.

“I felt it really young,” Chastain tells Variety. “Even though I dropped out of high school and went back and got my diploma later on, I was voted ‘Most Talented’ in our yearbook. So very early on, I was getting feedback that it w

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