As a vegan, Jessica Chastain has famously said, "I don't want to torture anything in my life." And shooting disturbing torture scenes for the upcoming film Zero Dark Thirty, which details the hunt for and takedown of Osama bin Laden, was understandably rough on the actor. But Jessica revealed how she and director Kathryn Bigelow got through it: "During the week that we were filming the interrogations, we sent each other videos of animals being rescued. It was so emotional for me because I rescue dogs and so does she. That's the kind of stuff that was going on behind the scenes. Like, this is not our lives, we are not these characters, there's a place that is waiting for us."

Many of us have experienced how an animal's love can get us through tough times. Anjelica Huston believes it's high time for us to return the favor and help heal the wounds of chimpanzees who have been confined to laboratories and experimented on. She penned an impassioned article urging everyone to support the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act, which would free all federally owned chimpanzees and retire them to peaceful, spacious sanctuaries.

Paul McCartney is advocating for turkeys to be freed from the fate of ending up as holiday centerpieces. The legendary musician and animal advocate posed for a new "Say No, Thanks to Turkey" Thanksgiving ad for PETA and reposted it on his Facebook page as a reminder before Christmas.

And scores of other celebrities shared animal-friendly reminders with their Twitter followers:

Congratulations are in order for one of our favorite compassionate couples: Jenna Dewan-Tatum and Channing Tatum are expecting their first bundle of joy. With parents like that, we know that their child will be beautiful inside and out.

To keep up with what all your favorite stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter. 

This time, the sad news comes from Japan: Pan-kun, a well-known chimpanzee from the Aso Cuddly Dominion Zoo who is forced to dress in costumes and perform for gawking audiences, erupted in frustration after a show and violently attacked a student trainee. Pan-kun remains at the zoo but has been "retired" from performing. The young woman has been hospitalized.

Because chimpanzees, monkeys, and other nonhuman primates remind us of ourselves, we're fascinated to observe them—but incarcerating exotic animals far from their natural environment and society can result in unpredictable and dangerous behavior.

We hardly needed yet another example of how the growing frustration of wild animals who are held captive and made to do stupid tricks for our amusement under the threat of physical punishment turns them into ticking time bombs. But here it is. And there'll be more so long as we keep compelling smart, sensitive, and complex animals to entertain us against their will.

What You Can Do

You can help. Sign PETA's pledge never to support film and television productions that exploit great ape "actors."

Forks Over Knives continues to change the way that America eats. Kristen Bell and fiancé Dax Shepard have both gone vegan after seeing it.

Another awesome Kristin—Kristin Chenoweth—is throwing her support behind her Glee costar Lea Michele's campaign to get horse-drawn carriages out of New York City. Chenoweth tweeted her disgust at seeing the miserable horses and is asking the New York City Council to ban the carriages.

Anjelica Huston is taking a stand against horse-drawn carriages while working in New York. The Smash star criticized the cruel carriage industry on Piers Morgan Tonight, and guest host Rosie O'Donnell agreed, "It does seem absurdly cruel." Anjelica continued speaking out for animals, deeming it "unconscionable" to orphan baby apes and force them to act.

And as always, Ricky Gervais continues to keep Twitter abuzz for animals, this week posting, "you can't justify torturing an animal for a shampoo."

Photo: Robert Sebree; Makeup: Chantal Moore for The Cloutier Agency

Steve-O agrees that animals don't belong in laboratories. He wrote to U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer of California to ask her to support the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act, which would ban the use of chimpanzees in experiments.

Fellow vegan and tattoo aficionado Travis Barker is raising health-conscious, animal-friendly kids who share their dad's penchant for vegan eating.

Nikki Reed and husband Paul McDonald welcomed a new "kid" into their family—a beautiful rescued dog.

To keep up on all the latest celebrity animal news, follow @PETA on Twitter.

The world has fallen for Lea Michele, but the lovely songbird uses her popularity to help stop cruelty to animals. Lea and PETA scored a spot on Teen.com's list of the "Top 5 Celebrity Charities You Should Support." (We also noticed our buddy Justin Bieber on the list.)

Joining Lea in the crusade to get horses off New York City's congested streets is Smash star Anjelica Huston, who asked the City Council to replace horse-drawn carriages with eco-friendly classic cars. Anjelica's Smash co-star Debra Messing also tweeted her support.

Rescued-dog fan Miley Cyrus is using Twitter to urge Khloe Kardashian to adopt, not buy. After Khloe tweeted that she was ready to share her life with a dog, Miley responded that she would love to help Khloe find a rescue, and Khloe kindly accepted! PETA jumped in to help, too, tweeting Khloe a link to a wonderful open-admission shelter in Dallas. Perhaps we'll be seeing the new addition to Khloe's family on an upcoming episode of Khloe & Lamar? 

Flip the dial to NBC to catch Wilmer Valderrama's new show, Awake. Before Wilmer was exposing secrets as a detective, he was exposing circuses' cruelty to animals. We know Ringling won't be popping up in any Awake episodes.

To keep up with what your favorite stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter.

Experts are calling on director Cameron Crowe to stop using primates as props in his films, like his upcoming We Bought a Zoo:

After years of using primates in its television spots, Capital One has informed PETA that it will stop airing its current ad featuring a chimpanzee and that it will not use primates in future advertisements.

Capital One's decision comes after PETA provided the company with information on how great apes used in advertising are ripped away from their mothers as babies and physically and psychologically abused during training. When they grow too big and strong to be safely handled, they are often discarded at seedy roadside zoos and pseudo-sanctuaries.

Capital One told PETA, "We believe you have made profound and compelling arguments about the treatment of primates."

Of the top 15 U.S. ad agencies, 10 refuse to use great apes in their ads. And every new national ad featuring great apes in 2010 was either pulled or modified when the companies learned about the cruelty associated with using wild animals as "actors." Now, please help us keep the pressure on CareerBuilder, which once again exploited chimpanzees for its 2011 Super Bowl ad and says that it intends to continue to use these animals.

Written by Michelle Sherrow