Angelina Jolie on how playing Maria changed her personally

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie recently spoke about her experience of playing Maria Callas in director Pablo Larrain's latest directorial film, Maria. In an interview, the actor called it a "once in a lifetime" role, adding, "It is certainly the most challenging." Written by Steven Knight and produced by Fremantle, Larrain's directorial venture is biographical psychological drama about opera singer Maria Callas.

It took Jolie seven months to memorise six of the tragic arias linked with Callas, who died of a heart attack at her Paris home on September 16, 1977, at the age of 53. While playing such a role requires a certain responsibility, Jolie said that she always wanted to collaborated with Larrain and this kind of character is not offered to her very often. She elaborated, "And if it's asked of me, it's not often with this kind of material and this director, so these things come once in a lifetime," she added.

Talking about her experience of being, "in the footsteps of someone you truly admire," Jolie said, "It was beyond anything I could imagine, and it was a gift emotionally for me." She continued, "It changed me as a person. It helped heal a part of me."

Recalling her prep for the part and how it affected her personally, the actor conceded that it would be too personal to explain. "But from that first day [on set] not being able to breathe and crying to singing at the top of my lungs at La Scala, Milan, those moments changed me," she reminisced.

Maria received an eight-minute standing ovation at its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, held at the Sala Grande Theatre recently. Overwhelmed by the response, Jolie got emotional and was seen wiping away tears. The biographical drama traces the journey of American-Greek soprano Maria Callas as she retreats to Paris after a glamorous yet tumultuous life in the public eye. Larrain's directorial venture reimagines her final days as she grapples with her identity and legacy.

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