How Angelina Jolie's kids helped her prepare to play Maria Callas: 'I was terribly nervous'

Angelina Jolie is opening up about her intense preparation to play Maria Callas. The Hollywood star talked about her training, revealing that she had never sung in public and was nervous about playing the iconic Opera singer in the highly anticipated film directed by Pablo Larraín.

The actress admitted that she trained for "almost seven months" in preparation for the role. "Everybody here knows, I was terribly nervous," she said during a press conference at the Venice Film Festival. 

“I spent almost seven months training because when you work with Pablo you can’t do anything by half. He demands, in the most wonderful way, that you really do the work and you really learn and train," she explained. 

© Jacopo Raule

“My first time singing I remember being so nervous. My sons were there and they helped lock the door so that nobody else was coming in, and I was shaky,” she said. “Pablo, in his decency, started me in a small room and ended me in La Scala. So he gave me time to grow.”

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She also talked about the Oscar buzz surrounding her performance, explaining that she aimed to honor the Opera singer and her fans. “My fear would be to disappoint [the fans],” she said. “If there’s a response to the work, I’m very grateful, but … I really came to care for her, so I didn’t want to do a disservice to this woman.”

© Courtesy of Pablo Larrain

Apart from her preparation to play Maria, Angelina was asked if she could relate to her. “There’s a lot I won’t say in this room that you probably know and assume,” the actress said. “I related to the part of her that is extremely soft and didn’t have room in the world to be as soft as she truly was and as emotionally open as she truly was. I think I share her vulnerability more than anything.”