Jessica Chastain's 'whole body was shaking' when she fell over at SAG Awards

Jessica Chastain's "whole body was shaking" when she fell over at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday night (Feb 27).

The Oscar-winning actress headed to the stage at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles to pick up the prize for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a limited series for her role in George and Tammy but she tripped over as she made her way up the stairs.

Jessica was helped to her feet and she was able to make her way to the podium to give her speech and she has now put her fall down to being overwhelmed by the win.

Speaking to Access Hollywood afterwards, she explained: "I'm walking up there and I realise I'm in trouble because my whole body is shaking and I'm like okay, I'm gonna need help up the stairs and then I started to trip."

"But once I got to the podium I saw the quick countdown of how much time I had and I had to talk fast and I have a feeling I might have forgotten some people ... "

Jessica is currently appearing in a production of Henrik Ibsen's classic play A Doll's House on Broadway and it meant she had to fly straight back to the Big Apple after the ceremony – and she didn't even have a bag to pack her statuette in for the trip.

She explained: "I'm flying back to New York tonight ... I don't even have like a rolling bag suitcase ... but yes this [trophy] will go on my bookcase."

During her speech at the ceremony, Jessica talked about her role on Broadway and offered a motivational message to aspiring and struggling actors in a tribute to late screen star Philip Seymour Hoffman

She said: "I'm doing a show right now in New York, I'm doing A Doll's House and every day after the show I get to meet people at the stage door and I meet a lot of actors, who tell me their stories and it reminds me of when I was in college, Philip Seymour Hoffman came to speak to my class and I told us all his frustrating stories about auditions and he encouraged us to keep going even when we thought no one was watching us."

"And he said at the end of the talk, I look forward to working with each of you. It really shocked me because it was like he brought it into being. A few years later it came true and I had the opportunity to do a play with him."

"I'm telling this story right now because it reminds me of how powerful our mind is and what our thoughts can do, so I want to tell everyone who might be struggling at home, to all the actors I get to meet, 'Keep going, you're one job away. I look forward to working with you, I'll see you on set and I love you.' "

ALSO READ: Everything Everywhere All at Once dominates SAG honours, setting stage for Oscars