Angelina Jolie Recalls Her Children Seeing Her in ‘Pain’ on Set of Latest Film

In an interview with BBC News, the actress opened up about working with her sons Maddox, 23, and Pax, 21, on the Netflix drama, Maria, revealing that her sons witnessed her expressing “a lot” of “pain” for the first time.

Jolie, 49, starred as the titular character in the film, portraying Greek opera singer Maria Callas, and Maddox and Pax were on set to see their mom’s portrayal firsthand as they worked as production assistants.

“The character [Callas] has a lot of pain and they’ve of course seen me go through a lot of things, but they hadn’t experienced me expressing a lot of the pain that usually a parent hides from a child,” Jolie recalled.

“So they were there to witness some of that, but then we would hug or they would bring me cups of tea,” she continued.

The Oscar winner said that the experience of having her children see her in “pain” in her role was a “new way” for her to be candid with her kids about her feelings “in an even greater way.”

While speaking with BBC News, Maria director Pablo Larraín said Maddox and Pax were “very busy” on set, praising Jolie’s kids as “good professionals.”

Jolie added that her eldest even recorded her rehearsing her singing, “so he was with me in my early horrible days,” she told the outlet.

“It’s always good for your children to watch your mum not do something easily, but swear and fight and fail and have to try again,” she said. “So that’s an important and beautiful thing.”

Jolie — who shares Maddox and Pax along with Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 16, with ex Brad Pitt — previously shared in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that her eldest sons watched her go through “heavy times” while shooting Maria, revealing that they never “heard me cry” like she did on the set of the film.

“I’ve been a parent for 23 years. The most beautiful thing about being a parent is that you are not the center of your life,” she told the outlet in August. “So you are leaving set, focused on something for someone. That’s your real life. Your real world. And that always is the majority of who you are.”

“I have never had a set where my family is not allowed to be there because I’m focusing — I’m not that person. You can climb all over me or visit,” she continued, adding that it “really meant a lot” to her that Maddox and Pax were on set with her.

However, Jolie added that “probably one of the more intense things” was that they saw her “expressing [so] much pain.”

“You really try to hide from your children how much pain and sadness you carry. And so for them to be with you when you’re expressing it at such a level, I think it was the first time they ever heard me cry like that,” she said, before jokingly adding, “That’s usually for the shower.”