Michel Franco was told Jessica Chastain would be a "diva" and a "nightmare" on the set of 'Memory'.

The 40-year-old actress won an Oscar last year for her leading role in 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye', and filmmaker Franco admitted some people expected her to be difficult on set.

During an interview at TIFF, Franco recalled people saying she would "show up and be a nightmare and be a diva".

He added: "I told them, you don’t know half of it. She’s the opposite.

“She’s going to show up satisfied, happy, and be productive. People are so afraid of actors. I don’t know why.

"The worst way to approach an actor or any person is with fear, and if you are pointing in the wrong direction then, yes, all your nightmares will come true.”

Chastain stars as Sylvia in the new movie about a recovering alcoholic dealing with childhood trauma.

As part of the role, she appears on screen with no makeup, and didn't have a trailer on set.

She said: “Because I have been doing bigger things sometimes and have gotten a lot of attention as of late, [there’s been the idea] that I would not be interested in being on a set without a trailer.

“We had the Oscars, and I won for Tammy Faye, and then right after that, I showed up on set to do Memory.

"Michel said that a lot of people told him, ‘Oh Jessica is going to leave your film because she just won an Oscar.’ ”

However, she noted she didn't take up acting as a career "to be pampered".

She explained: "If I want to be pampered, I’ll go to a spa. I’m doing a film to work and to be creative, and I don’t need to sit by myself in a trailer.”