Angelina Jolie is back in UK cinemas this Friday in Maria, the biopic about iconic opera singer Maria Callas.
Talking to Digital Spy, Jolie reflected on how she managed to relate to the singer, especially in how she had to balance her personal and private lives.
"I think there's a public self and a private self for everyone, but maybe a little more magnified for somebody that's a performer. I think I related most to the work. I think she really loved and took her work very seriously," she explained.
Related: Angelina Jolie reveals "biggest challenge" of Maria
"She took her responsibility to the audience very seriously. It was a relationship, a very important relationship in her life, which I identify with. You sometimes feel like with the public, the people think they know you, and in some ways, they do.
"It can be the most wonderful thing to meet a stranger and have connected emotionally, but then you live with that you're not really known, and there's a private you that sometimes doesn't have space or isn't wanted in the same way, or isn't given that room to be human.
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"It's strange. There's something about that I can't quite explain, but I understood her loneliness."
Maria centres on the final days of Maria Callas before her death in 1977, with the singer reflecting on her life and career. It sometimes takes a fantastical approach to events with Maria's perception of what is real and not.
Related: Why Maria is not on Netflix UK
"It's about her perception. I think it's a movie that is looking at a single character all the time and through her eyes we see the world," noted director Pablo Larraín.
"So it's about one single point of view, and it's really up to her as a performer and as a character when she lets us in and when she doesn't. That interaction is very interesting and beautiful and sensitive."
Ahead of its UK release, Jolie also spoke to Digital Spy about the "biggest challenge" of portraying Maria Callas.
Maria is released in UK cinemas on January 10, and is available to watch now on Netflix in the US.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over eight years. Based in the UK, she is a former deputy movies editor at Digital Spy, and previously worked for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas. Mireia's work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema and GamesRadar+ in the UK. She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She's also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London. LinkedIn
