Kathryn Bigelow 's thriller '' Zero Dark Thirty '' marked Chastain 's final film release of 2012 . The film tells a partly fictionalized account of the decade-long manhunt for Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks . Chastain was cast as Maya , an emotionally hardened CIA intelligence analyst who helped kill bin Laden . The difficult subject matter made it unpleasant for Chastain to film . She suffered from depression while working and once walked off the set in tears because she was unable to continue . Chastain was unable to meet the undercover agent on whom Maya was based and she relied on the screenwriter Mark Boal 's research . '' Zero Dark Thirty '' received critical acclaim but was controversial for scenes of torture that were shown providing useful intelligence in the search for bin Laden . Peter Travers of '' Rolling Stone '' wrote that Chastain played Maya " like a gathering storm in an indelible , implosive performance that cuts so deep we can feel her nerve endings " . Roger Ebert made note of Chastain 's versatility , and favorably compared her ability and range to that of actress Meryl Streep . For her performance , Chastain won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama and earned Academy , BAFTA and SAG nominations for Best Actress
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Jessica Chastain