Jessica Chastain is looking on the bright side!
While she admitted to PEOPLE after her win Sunday at the SAG Awards 2023 that she was "a little embarrassed" by her stumble as she took the stage to accept her trophy for best female actor in a television movie or series, she is seeing the silver lining in the whole thing.
"I tripped on the stairs — but I had two very handsome men helping me up" — one of whom was Paul Mescal! — "so that wasn't so bad," she quipped.
In all seriousness: "I'm just so over the moon and happy and I can't believe it," Chastain, 45, said of the win, which marks her third SAG Award out of a total of five nominations.
Chastain won best female actor in a television movie or series for Showtime's George & Tammy. The other nominees were Emily Blunt (The English), Julia Garner (Inventing Anna) Niecy Nash-Betts (Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story) and Amanda Seyfried (The Dropout).
The actress appeared visibly shocked when her name was revealed, and on the way to the stage, she briefly tripped on the steps before getting to the microphone.
After thanking a list of people for making the project happen, Chastain, who is currently performing on Broadway in A Doll's House, said in her speech, "Every day after the show I get the opportunity to meet people at the stage door, and I get to meet a lot of actors who tell me their stories."
She went on to remember how she was inspired by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who once came to speak to her class in college and "encouraged us to keep going even when we felt like no one was watching us."
Chastain added, "I'm telling this story now because it reminds me of how powerful our mind is and that we are what our thoughts create. So I just wanna tell everyone who might be struggling at home, to all the actors that I get to meet: Keep going. You're one job away. I look forward to working with you. I'll see you on set. I love you."
Chastain told PEOPLE after her win that the SAG Awards is her "favorite" event of awards season, "because my favorite part about being an actor is that I get to be around other actors."
"I know that sound a bit silly, but I was the little kid at home watching all these shows and recording the Tonys to watch back, and I was so obsessed with this industry and what people got to do and wanting to be a part of it," she continued.
"And so I kinda feel a little bit like I snuck in, and it means a lot to me," Chastain added.
The 2023 SAG Awards ceremony is currently airing live from the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, on Netflix's YouTube channel.
