Jessica Chastain says she will skip the Oscars red carpet if necessary to support her Tammy Faye makeup team

Jessica Chastain has said she is willing to skip the Oscars red carpet in order to support the makeup artists of The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

The Academy has attracted widespread criticism following its announcement in February to slash eight categories from the live broadcast.

During this year’s ceremony, the Oscars for documentary short, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live-action short and sound will be presented off the air.

Chastain – who is nominated for Best Actress for her role in The Eyes of Tammy Faye – has said that she will be there to support her film’s makeup team when their category is announced, and will skip the red carpet portion of the evening if necessary.

“I will absolutely be present when the makeup category is being called, and if that means I’m not doing press on the red carpet or ABC or whatever it is, then so be it,” the actor said during an appearance on the Next Best Picture podcast.

The film, which also stars Andrew Garfield, sees Chastain undergo a drastic physical transformation made possible because of makeup and prosthetics.

The Interstellar actor plays televangelist Tammy Faye at various ages over the course of 30 years.

“The most important thing for me is to honour the incredible artisans who work in our industry,” Chastain said.

“So much attention is on the actors. We’re like the face, in some ways, because you go to a movie and you see us. A lot of people don’t understand how beyond an actor a performance is. Look at this incredible makeup team. Tammy Faye goes through three decades.”

Chastain is not the only star to criticise the Academy’s decision. Earlier this week, filmmaker Edgar Wright urged both the Baftas and Oscars to air their awards ceremonies in full.

“Let it all be live,” wrote the Last Night in Soho director.

The 94th Academy Awards will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on 28 March.