Angelina Jolie’s roles have leveled up as she’s aged in Hollywood.
“I’ve got better work as I’ve got older,” Jolie, 49, said during an interview with U.K.’s The Sunday Times, published on Sunday, December 1. “I don’t think about it in terms of roles offered but in terms of life experience you contribute. It’s easier for actors than singers or dancers because your body doesn’t change.”
Jolie reflected on her career while promoting her role as opera singer Maria Callas in the new movie Maria, which will be released on Netflix later this month.
The actress said she related to Callas — who died in 1977 — because of the singer’s “commitment to her work.”
“I’m a hard worker,” Jolie stated. “And a deeply feeling person. Maria is vulnerable because she feels and isn’t sometimes able to protect herself from the loneliness or emotional pain. Because it’s part of her life and work to be extremely human and live that way.”
Just like Callas, the star said she lives “through [her] communication with the audience,” which was just another thing they had in common.
“For Maria and for me that has always been extremely important,” Jolie added.
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The profile revealed that the actress spent seven months taking singing and Italian lessons to prepare for the role. Jolie’s voice is mixed with Callas’ for the film’s final score.
The movie also became a family affair as Jolie’s sons Maddox, 23, and Pax, 20, were employed as production assistants on the set.
“They were able to consider the relationships in the film and the violence,” Jolie told The Times about her children. “Things that sometimes you don’t have the opportunity to discuss with your sons, so I felt fortunate.”
Jolie shares Maddox and Pax, along with Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 16, with ex-husband Brad Pitt. She and Pitt, 60, split in 2016 and have been in an ongoing legal battle ever since.
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The actress has been candid in recent years about how parenting her six kids comes before her career — especially in terms of directing.
“I love directing, but I had a change in my family situation that’s not made it possible for me to direct for a few years,” Jolie told Entertainment Weekly in April 2021. “I needed to just do shorter jobs and be home more, so I kind of went back to doing a few acting jobs. That’s really the truth of it.”
During Sunday’s interview with The Times, Jolie appeared to double down on this decision.
“My work is not everything,” she said. “Being a parent is everything.”
