Angelina Jolie prepared for her role in the self-titled Maria Callas biopic by having constructive conversations with her older sons about the film’s themes of violence and relationships. Speaking to The Sunday Times, the Oscar winner revealed that her eldest sons Maddox, 23, and Pax, 21 – who also worked on the Netflix film in the assistant director department – assisted her in the role.
The actress reflected on her time in the film and admitted to feeling “lucky” about the decision. “They were able to consider relationships and violence in the film — things that sometimes you don’t have the opportunity to discuss with your sons,” he told the outlet.
In the biopic, Jolie plays Maria, who had a year-long affair with Aristotle Onassis. However, that aspect is reportedly not shown on-screen. The Maleficent actress also revealed that she felt connected to her character as they had certain similarities, such as her “commitment” to her work.
“I’m a hard-working and deeply feeling person,” she said. Jolie believes that Maria is insecure and sometimes not able to protect herself from “loneliness or emotional pain”, which the actress finds extremely human in her own way. “You live through your communication with the audience. Jolie said, for Maria and me, this has always been extremely important.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the actress revealed that this was not the first time that her son had joined her on the sets of a film. “He’s done it a few times and I think it’s good for him,” he said at the time.
