If Angelina Jolie was starting her career today, she says she wouldn't go with acting
Stefania D'Alessandro/Getty Images
- Angelina Jolie says she "wouldn't be an actress today" if she had to choose a career now.
- Jolie opened up about her lifelong struggles with fame in a new interview with The Wall Street Journal.
- "When I was starting out, it wasn't as much of an expectation to be as public, to share so much," she said.
Angelina Jolie says she wouldn't pursue a career in Hollywood if she was starting out now.
In a new interview with The Wall Street Journal, the 48-year-old actor opened up about her struggles with fame and the pressure to live a public life.
"I wouldn't be an actress today," Jolie told WSJ. "When I was starting out, it wasn't as much of an expectation to be as public, to share so much."
She added that being an actor also meant that the public chooses "how they want you." In her case, they like the fun parts of her — but not her emotional sides.
"Since I was young, people liked the part of me that's pretty tough and maybe a bit wild — that's the part that I think people enjoy," she said. "I'm not the one you want to hear about my pain or my sadness. You know, that's not entertaining."
The constant media scrutiny also made it hard for her to spend as much time with her children as she'd like.
"You kind of step out when there's times you would have liked to have been there," the "Maleficent" star told WSJ.
Jolie notes that she's ready to leave Hollywood to spend more time in Cambodia, where she has another home.
"It's part of what happened after my divorce. I lost the ability to live and travel as freely. I will move when I can," Jolie said.
For 12 years, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were one of Hollywood's most iconic couples. In 2016, Jolie filed for divorce.
Growing up as the daughter of two actors, Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand, Jolie added that she was "never very impressed with Hollywood."
"I grew up in quite a shallow place," she said. "Of all the places in the world, Hollywood is not a healthy place. So you seek authenticity."