Angelina Jolie says motherhood played a huge part in her taking on ‘Maleficent’.
The actress – who has Maddox, 12, Pax, 10, Zahara, nine, Shiloh, seven, and twins Knox and Vivienne, five, with her fiance Brad Pitt – was happy to take on the role in the re-imagining of Walt Disney’s ‘Sleeping Beauty’ as she was able to spend time with her children on set.
She told Collider.com "[Motherhood] had a lot to do with it. My kids are now all watching all of these movies and wanting to play with mummy. It was perfect timing to have them all on set, playing and being a part of the adventure with me. "
Jolie, 38, also credits the "bold" nature of the evil title character as a factor in her decision to take on the role.
She said: "For me, as an actress, I wanted to not do something where I’m taking myself so seriously, and trying to do something for myself and my art. I wanted to remember what it is to play and entertain, and try something bold.
"The artist in me felt that it’s good to do something bold, every once in awhile, that you’re not comfortable with and haven’t done. I was a bit nervous to take her on. I don’t have a big theater voice. I don’t do things that are comedic. This is such a crazy idea. I’m a fairy. I’d come and hear, ‘How was your day, honey?’ And I’d be like, ‘I was a fairy. I don’t know.’ But somehow, it’s great to jump into things you’re not sure of and you haven’t done and that are a little scary. That’s what we have to do, as artists."
The Oscar-winner – whose daughter Vivienne makes her acting debut as the young Princess Aurora – hopes that her children don’t dedicate their lives to the big-screen and only wants them to take-up movie-making "for fun."
She said: "I just want them to like it and do it for fun, only. If, when they get older, they decide to be actors, I would just ask that that’s not the centre of their lives. That can be an aspect, but I also want them to do many other things with their lives and get involved with many other things. I don’t think it’s a healthy focus, as a centre of your life."
Angelina Jolie: Maleficent was ‘perfect timing’
