Angelina Jolie: Never taken seriously as an actress?

Angelina Jolie (49) has just received a Golden Globe nomination, the seventh in her career, for her role as opera singer Maria Callas (1923-1977) in “Maria”. Nevertheless, she doesn’t feel like she’s really taken seriously as an actress. At least one statement in a conversation suggests this.

In it, Jolie talks about “very old” interviews with Maria Callas. It was “for hours” about the art of the great opera singer and not about her private life. “Nobody has ever done that to me,” Angelina Jolie complained. “She was taken seriously,” she added of Maria Callas.

Angelina Jolie, on the other hand, “never allowed herself” to “simply enjoy” being an artist. For her it was more about “fame and business”. In fact, the actress’ private matters repeatedly overshadowed her public perception as an artist. For example, the War of the Roses with her ex-husband Brad Pitt (60) – or her work as an activist, for example as a special envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Through “Maria,” Angelina Jolie has apparently rediscovered herself as an artist. “It’s a gift to be able to lead a life as an artist and this role has helped me rediscover art and being an artist,” she said in the interview with Radio Times.

For the part of Maria Callas, Angelina Jolie didn’t just study old interviews of the opera diva. She took singing lessons for months. It was a “challenge”, but it made the Oscar winner feel alive as an artist again: “As an artist you want to dare to do something that you’re afraid of, that you don’t know if you can do.”

“Maria” opens in German cinemas on February 6, 2025.