Angelina Jolie is currently promoting her new movie, Maria, a biopic of opera singer Maria Callas who died in 1977. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Jolie reflected on the difficult conversations she was able to have with her sons while making the film.
While Jolie stars as Callas in Maria, Jolie's sons Maddox and Pax worked as production assistants on the film. "They were able to consider the relationships in the film and the violence," Jolie said. "Things that sometimes you don’t have the opportunity to discuss with your sons, so I felt fortunate."
During the same interview, Jolie reflected on her life as a mother, and the importance she places on her children. "Maria didn't have a family, so her work was everything," the By the Sea director explained. "My work is not everything... Being a parent is everything."
Alongside Maddox and Pax, Jolie is raising Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne.
While speaking with The Sunday Times, Jolie revealed that undertaking opera singing lessons for the movie became a form of therapy.
"It was the therapy I didn't realize I needed," she told the outlet. "Singing opera requires you to be as emotionally open as you possibly can be—it's not like singing in the car. It's cathartic. I've never pushed myself or opened myself up in that way, that was daunting."
Earlier this year, Jolie opened up about her experience making Maria, as well as how she instinctually tries to protect her kids.
"It really meant a lot that my boys were with me on Maria," Jolie told The Hollywood Reporter. "When I would have really heavy times, they would come over and just give me a hug or a cup of tea." She continued, "That was probably one of the more intense things was that—usually when I’m expressing that much pain, it's not in front of my children."
The actress further elaborated, "You really try to hide from your children how much pain and sadness you carry." She continued, "And so for them to be with you when you’re expressing it at such a level, I think it was the first time they ever heard me cry like that. That’s usually for the shower."
