Jessica Chastain is shocked to be considered a sex symbol.

The sultry redhead - who is famous for her roles in The Help, The Debt and Lawless - doesn't see herself as object of desire having been a tomboy as a child and she is always surprised when she is told she is attractive.

Speaking in the new issue of the UK edition of GQ, she said: "When someone tells me I'm a sex symbol I'm like, 'What?' But I'll take what I can get. That'll teach all those boys back in junior high [school]. In fact, I hope my very first boyfriend, the guy I dated for one month and who broke up with me at the Valentine's Day dance - I hope that boy reads this!"

Although she doesn't think of herself as any man's dream woman, Jessica does enjoy getting flattering comments from the opposite sex. "It's a huge compliment when someone says you're attractive, especially when I was such an awkward kid - I was very tomboyish, with very short red hair, running around with cowboy boots on," she explained.

Another reason why Jessica doesn't understand the attention she attracts is because she doesn't behave like lots of other famous women. The screen beauty insists you won't ever see her stumbling out of nightclubs and she wants to stay as anonymous as she can be in Hollywood: "I'm certainly not the sort of actress to fall out of a club at 2am with no knickers on... But I hardly ever get recognized. If I go outside and walk around for 10 minutes trust me, no one will run up begging for an autograph."