Angelina Jolie played an opera singer in the biopic Maria, but the transformation process was quite challenging for the actress and she has named the person who helped her get there.
Angelina praised the film’s director Pablo Larrain for supporting her through the learning process, which she found daunting.
The Salt alum plays soprano Maria Callas in the new biopic, which received an eight-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival.
Getting candid about the “daunting” process of learning opera and playing Maria, Angelina told Variety, “It wasn’t easy. I was fortunate to have a director who truly understood and respected opera. He knew how much work was required and assembled a team around me to teach me.”
“He made sure I had the classes I needed and gave me the space to practice. From the beginning, he understood that I needed extra time to prepare, and he always supported my transformation process,” she continued.
Revealing what made her take on the challenging project, she said: “You always hope to work with directors you’ve admired, and I’ve wanted to work with Pablo for a while. It is a gift to take on something like this, knowing you’re in good hands and can push yourself to the edge because they’ll catch you.”
“Her music was daunting, but it’s good to feel scared. As an artist, being so challenged that you’re unsure if you can do it is a great feeling,” Angelina Jolie concluded.
