Angelina Jolie has been candid about the well of emotions that playing opera singer Maria Callas for the upcoming Maria has opened, from grappling with fame to a "diva" attitude.
The 49-year-old actress has made the film festival circuit for months in promotion of the film and its message, and is now eyeing awards glory once again for her bravura turn as the titular performer.
By her side on this journey have been her sons Maddox, 23, and Pax, 20, shared with her ex-husband Brad Pitt. While she has been careful not to speak about her personal life, she has fondly recalled times spent with her sons while making Maria.
Maddox and Pax acted as production assistants on the film, with Pax even taking behind-the-scenes photographs from the making of the Pablo Larraín movie.
In a new interview with The Times, Angelina talks about the difficult aspects of fame and interpersonal relationships she learned from the late Callas, and having those discussions with her sons, specifically her dynamic with her mother Litsa Callas and her whirlwind affair with Aristotle Onassis.
"They were able to consider the relationships in the film and the violence," she described. "Things that sometimes you don't have the opportunity to discuss with your sons, so I felt fortunate."
The Girl, Interrupted actress also addresses whether she felt any identification with Callas over being universally adored for her talent, but lonely and outcast in her private life, and she says that thanks to her family, she never felt that way.
"I don't feel that because I have family," Angelina says, referring to her six children, all of whom are very close with the star. "Maria didn't have a family, so her work was everything. My work is not everything. Being a parent is everything."
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However, in an interview with the New York Times, she confessed that she did see some of herself in her isolation. "Loneliness is not a bad thing," the Oscar winner added.
"We're both seen as strong, but actually we're very vulnerable and human. I don't think either one of us is necessarily comfortable being public."
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It was also revealed during the conversation that due to the nerves associated with her opera training and singing as Callas, Angelina's first time singing on camera in a theater in Greece was restricted to only a few people. Among them, however, were Maddox and Pax as well.
Once again, she shared her discomfort with being in the spotlight again, after years away from the spotlight amidst her tense divorce from Brad and being a parent, while also dabbling in directing, producing and her humanitarian work.
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"I'm feeling a little uncomfortable being so public again," she admitted, saying that she had found "softness" in her time away from the screen.
"When you are stripped of so many things that make you feel safe and whole, you really sit with what matters to you and what you want to give every breath in your body for," she continued. "In the end, I found a lot of softness."