Jessica Chastain Declares Kardashians 'Most Powerful Women in Our Society' and Denies 'Feud' With This Actress

While training for her role of former underground poker ringleader Molly Bloom in last year's "Molly's Game," Chastain watched the "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" and praised Kim's "genius." One standout moment Chastain was particularly impressed by was watching the famous family undergo media training.

"Kim's the one that brings everyone to go do it," Chastain said. "You definitely see that she is a very intelligent person and is learning how to gain control over her life. I mean, she already has it, but especially in media and society."

The Oscar nominee, who is considered a leader in the Time's Up movement, also shot down an alleged "feud" with Jennifer Lawrence while speaking to THR.

"In 2012, there was some tabloid saying that, like, Jennifer Lawrence and I were in a feud, which was insane," Chastain said. "She and I laughed about it. She came up to me and goes, 'So I hear we're feuding?' I've never had a bad situation with women that I've worked with."

Chastain isn't only a advocate for gender equality in film, but racial equality as well. Her advocacy was directly derived from her "The Help" co-star Octavia Spencer.

"I shared a personal story [with Chastain] about what [financial] success has meant for me and most women of color in comparison to our white counterparts," Spencer said. "I told her about the gross disparity in our salaries. She provided a much-needed shoulder and listened. And then she did what she always does: She took up my cause and made it her own. As a friend, she's your biggest cheerleader; but as a colleague, she's your most vocal advocate."

The actress, who will next be seen in Western drama "Woman Walks Ahead," created a "favored nations" deal at her production company -- where actors with equivalently sized parts tie their salaries together and make the same amount of money.

"In an industry that for the longest time had pitted women against each other, it's really important for me and my company to create a space where everyone understands that actually we do better together," Chastain said. "Your silence is your discrimination. So if you are succeeding in an environment where there is discrimination, you are actively being discriminatory. I knew women of color got paid less than Caucasian actresses. What I didn't know is someone of Octavia's level, who had an Oscar and two Oscar nominations, how much less she would be getting paid. When she told me what she was making, that's what really made me go, 'Hold up, that doesn't compute in my brain.'"

"Woman Walks Ahead" hits theaters June 29 and is currently available exclusively on DIRECTV.