Imagine entering a room and all eyes immediately darting in your direction, or leaving your home and having to navigate through hordes of photogs on a daily basis. Welcome to the crazed world of Angelina Jolie, currently starring in the Robert De Niro directed thriller, The Good Shepherd.
During the course of her hectic day, R.C. sat down and chatted with one of the worlds most beautiful women. Clad in a body hugging crimson blouse and cream pencil skirt Angelina intelligently relayed her thoughts on social activism, her Oscar magnate career and Zahara’s Halloween outfit.
Rocka.Candy: You’re one of the world’s most beloved women? How difficult is it to play a dejected wife in The Good Shepherd?
Angelina Jolie: Well, I do have two divorces behind me (she giggles), but I am still good friends with them, so it’s still ok. I think its easier to play that [type of] stuff when you do have a balanced home, because I did have alcoholism in my personal life, it would have been much more uncomfortable to get in there. I’ve never had that kind of relationship since I’ve always married artist - and they are an expressive bunch.
R.C.: Your usually such strong characters, this one isn’t so much, what was attractive about that?
AJ: I do see her in the end as strong as a woman could be at that time. There were many things that were broken, and I usually don’t get to play that part, and that’s why it took a while for Bob to decide that I should play that part. She is subservient, and as an actress it was a great challenge, and as a woman there are pieces of me that are broken.
R.C.: Did you have to prove that to Robert De Niro?
AJ: I think he needed to understand that really I knew her, and that my intentions on how I would play her were accurate. He’s very specific, and aware of every detail. I am a very modern woman, and she’s light and silly in a way I don’t portray. He had to know I understood her, and we talked about it a lot.
R.C.: Do you think secrets are good for the success of normal relationships?
AJ: I think quite the opposite is the only thing that works. I don’t want to spend my life having to pretend to be someone else. You want to be who you are in every moment, and that’s the only way you can be truly happy.
R.C.: Are there any truths to the rumor your going to be in Sin City 2?
AJ: We’ve talked about it, and I read the comics, but I don’t think it’s going to be made at this moment. It was a funny thing, because the idea came to me when I was pregnant, so I was feeling very maternal and pregnant, and at the idea of being sexy, violent, and loud, I thought, “Maybe after I am pregnant, that would be nice to do.” It’s a possibility.
R.C.: Has your political work changed your world view?
AJ: I’ve never been clearly aware of something specific. But I’ve witness our foreign policy and I’ve witnessed the change in the perception of our foreign policy.
R.C.: What kind of changes?
AJ: To be completely honest, about five years ago when I was traveling and I would say I was American, everyone was very excited and thought it was the greatest thing in the world. And now, you feel cautious, and you get the feeling people aren’t so joyous about that.
Or they will say, “It’s extraordinary you’re here since you’re American.” And that’s not true to the American people, they are very caring generous people, and it’s not what our government has represented in the last few years. I think we all know exactly what I am saying.
R.C.: How does your social activism change the type of roles you eventually take?
AJ: I think it’s important to have fun and not take everything so-so seriously. I think there is big room for entertainment in this world, that’s most of the movies I take my kids too. I am not a politician, I am an actor, and I’m supposed to entertain and tell stories - so I remember that.
But the biggest choice now is, “How long is it shooting?” You’ll notice I don’t think I’ve spent more than seven weeks on a movie in two years. I need to make sure I have time with my kids.
R.C.: Will you work with Brad again?
AJ: Who will watch the children?
R.C.: You’re so involved, how do the two of you choose your causes?
AJ: We are involved in many things and I think Brads work in New Orleans… We try to stay focused but we hear something and always want to get involved. We are working together on Aids orphans and passing some legislation for them on their behalf, since no one is fighting for them.
For Zahara as well, we want to do something in Ethiopia supporting the orphanage there, but we want to find something specific. Just as Maddox will take over his project, we’d like for her to take over hers.
R.C.: How did it feel seeing yourself age in the film?
AJ: Well my mom is aging gracefully, so if I am anything like my mother - lovely. I love age on a face. I know in this business there is not a lot of leverage on how people should look, but I love to age in movies. There’s actually something comforting about feeling yourself as an older woman. When you get to that point you will have gained so many different things, and rooted in so many ways.
But Clover is different; I hopefully won’t break apart like she did. We had these big yellow contacts and yellow teeth. You may not have noticed it, but I had the alcohol age, a lot of broken capillaries and yellow. So that’s what I will look like if I start drinking.
R.C.: You’re always in the public eye, how does that change your everyday life?
AJ: I’ve made a point to not let it change my everyday life. Other than the point that I have to carefully plan my holidays, or where we go, or where we stay - to insure some kind of quality of life. We simply don’t let it effect us, the only time it’s hard is when the kids want to do something.
I’ve had so many people offers to take my kid to Disneyland, Trick-or-Treating or places I can’t take them, and they don’t understand how upsetting that is. So we plan on finding ways to do those things.
R.C.: Do you get into costume for Halloween?
AJ: Oh, I have.
R.C.: What were you?
AJ: I was just a mix of odd mask and things. And this year we were in India, and we had this really odd celebration in the hotel with candy and costumes we had sent up from the states…. Z had a big afro and I had dreadlocks. We were trying to explain to them what it was, but we had a lot of fun with dress up.
R.C.: Life seems so hectic for you, how do you manage all of this?
AJ: I plan a lot, excessively. I am very-very lucky, I love the different elements of my life. I love being with the kids and being with Brad. This is the life I chose to have and I’d like to add many more children.
Tags: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Interviews, Robert Dinero, The Good Shepherd
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