Angelina Jolie balked at a question regarding whether there should be a biopic about her life.
When Jolie, 49, and her Maria director Pablo Larraín spoke with the U.K.’s The Times to promote their biopic of opera singer Maria Callas, the outlet reported that both laughed “for slightly too long” when asked what a film about Jolie’s own life directed by Larraín might look like.
“That gets the most insane question award,” Jolie said in response. “When you’re a public person and you’re playing her, you’re conscious of how you would hate for somebody to interpret your life or think they understand your life, so we tried to be thoughtful. Let’s hope there isn’t one about my life.”
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Larraín, the 48-year-old Chilean filmmaker, has made a name for himself in the U.S. in recent years for directing biopics of famous 20th century women at a crossroads, including 2016’s Jackie (starring Natalie Portman) and 2021’s Spencer (starring Kristen Stewart). Jolie is not a natural singer, but she worked on her voice in order to portray Callas, who died at 53 in 1977 while living in Paris. Per The Times, Jolie took seven months’ worth of singing lessons and studied Italian to portray the opera star.
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“It was the therapy I didn’t realize I needed,” she told the outlet of the movie, which marked her first onscreen role since 2021’s Eternals. “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.”
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Jolie is considered an awards season frontrunner for her performance in Maria; accordingly, she received the Gotham Awards’ Performer Tribute for the movie on Dec. 2. When she spoke with PEOPLE at the movie’s American Film Institute Festival premiere back on Oct. 26, the Academy Award winner said she felt she shared a “certain loneliness” with Callas that stemmed from their dedication to their work.
“I don’t want to speak too much about it because it’s too personal, but there’s definitely a loneliness and a work ethic,” Jolie said. “I may be many things, but I’m a very hard worker, right? I’m an imperfect person, but I work very hard and she does.”
Maria is playing in select theaters now and launches on Netflix Dec. 11.
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