Though she would have to kill me if she divulged the real identity of her character (who is still on the job), Chastain does her best to share intel from “Zero Dark Thirty,” while talking with CP2 in New York City.

By KEVIN CHILL HEARD

Managing Editor

After the harrowing tragedy of 9/11, America as a government and a society was preoccupied with any and all and information concerning the location of Osama bin Laden (OBL). The manhunt was initiated during the administration of President George W. Bush and concluded under the bold leadership of President Barack Obama.

In the soon-to-be-released film “Zero Dark Thirty,” we are privy to the grimy grunt work of CIA agents and the daring capture and termination of OBL at the hands of the celebrated Navy SEAL Team 6.

At the heart of this story, is a young CIA agent named Maya. Her soul purpose is to collect intel – by any means necessary – leading to the direct location or even the whereabouts of OBL. In an Oscar-worthy performance, Jessica Chastain gets to the nitty-gritty desert dust that makes up her character Maya.

Working with the production team (Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal) that wrote and directed the 2009 Academy Award-winning Best Picture “The Hurt Locker,” Chastian was in the best of care.

Though she would have to kill me if she divulged the real identity of her character (who is still on the job), Chastain does her best to share intel from the making of “Zero Dark Thirty,” while talking with CP2 in New York City.

How did you prepare for your character?

We were shooting in Jordan and India and I was so immersed in the story we were telling. I had the props person print up all the pictures of the terrorists from Maya’s set and I hung them up in my hotel room. So even after I was done shooting, it was always around me.

How did you research the role?

As far as research, there was a great amount of information in the script. Every scene gave me clues as to who everyone was. And of course our screenwriter was an investigative reporter, which was very helpful. I nicknamed Mark (Boal) “The Professor.” I had three months of going to school to learn about this before we started shooting. It was a full immersion school.

What is your favorite part of the film?

For me, my favorite part of the movie is the end (the capture of OBL). This story is through the eyes of this woman who has sacrificed being a servant to her work and she lost herself along the way; but she realizes that it’s bigger than that. Where does she go from there, but also, where do we go as a country and as a society? What do we do now?

“Zero dark Thirty” will be released (limited) Dec. 19 – check for local listings. This film is not yet rated.

To stay updated on “Zero Dark Thirty,” you can follow Chill on Twitter @houseofchill