Angelina Jolie: ‘My kids have seen me broken and in pain’

They’re also part of the Marvel movie. They’re don’t make cameo appearances or anything like that, but there is a line of dialogue that is just for them.

Jolie revealed that a line spoken by her character, warrior Thena, was crafted between herself and director Chloe Zhao, and she told her six kids, “‘There’s a special line just for you’ and they know it’s that one”.

In a pivotal scene in the Marvel superhero epic, Jolie’s character says that when you love something, you fight for it, and it’s a sentiment that also applies to the Oscar winner’s many off-screen battles, in her personal life and as an activist.

“It’s not possible for me not to fight for something or someone,” she said. “It doesn’t even have to be somebody I love and care about.

“I’m just somebody, when I see an injustice and I think there’s something I can do, or I see somebody who’s being harmful to somebody else, I don’t feel I can walk away from it as a person.”

Jolie wears many hats – actor, filmmaker, activist, writer and mother.

The influence she’s wielded has enabled her to champion certain causes, including as a Special Envoy for the UNHCR, or gave her a platform to direct stories close to her such as the Khmer-language film First They Killed My Father.

But the flipside of her profile means she’s led a very public life in which her personal relationships, most notably with ex Brad Pitt, has been scrutinised and picked apart as media fodder.

So, her personal battles become public battles, which isn’t easy for anyone, even someone who’s as privileged as Jolie.

She may be someone who strides with assurance down a red carpet or who’s widely admired for her many talents, but Jolie has felt vulnerable.

“I’m somebody who questions herself often, and I don’t walk around with confidence that I’m ever good enough or strong enough,” she said.

“But I’ve come to see as I’ve gotten older, those parts of me that are very emotional and vulnerable are also what makes me very real and in tune to my children, or in tune to someone else, a stranger, to be empathetic.

“To have my own parts that are broken has helped me, I hope it’s made me a better person. I don’t strive to be balanced and perfect in any way now. I embrace that these things that make us very real and human are in fact our strengths.

“I’m very much like Thena in that I am both that person who can be very raw, feel very broken and very vulnerable. But I’m also that person who will fight to the end with everything I’ve got for those I love.”

While Thena is just one of 10 superheroes in what is very much an ensemble movie, Eternals gives Jolie the space to explore depth and nuance in relatively short screen time.

Her character has a meaty arc over the narrative’s 7000-year span in which Thena goes from warrior to psychologically broken to rediscovering her strength and resolve.

Jolie said she related to Thena’s multifaceted characterisation.

“She was challenging because she holds these two parts,” Jolie explained. “She’s really struggling with her mental health, she’s really struggling with feeling very broken and overwhelmed.

“But through that, where she’s clear is she fights and tries to be strong for who she loves and for her family.

“That was a really interesting acting challenge in this type of a film, to be so open and vulnerable. I hope for many people, when they see this, [they see] people who suffer and are broken can also be very strong.”

For Jolie, part of the appeal of the project was Eternals’ diverse casting, with an ensemble that includes actors Kumail Nanjiani, Salma Hayek, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Gemma Chan and Don Lee.

The film features Marvel’s first deaf character and its first representation of a LGBTQI relationship.

“Obviously, with my own family, I’m a big believer in and love diversity,” Jolie said of the moment Marvel execs pitched her a story universe that would be more inclusive. “I see firsthand every day the strength that comes from it, and the deeper understanding of each other.

“I wanted to be a part of this diverse, inclusive cast and tell this story, put this family forward to the world.”

And her children have given their approval, telling her that they like Eternals but also that Thena is the character Jolie has played which is most like the mother they know.

“I think that’s because they’ve seen me at my worst, they’ve seen me broken, they’ve seen me in pain, and they also know that I fight really hard for those I love,” she said.

“And I can be pretty tough. My kids know that I am flawed, and that’s a beautiful thing for you to [realise]. Your parents aren’t perfect, but [it’s good] to be able to really laugh at their flaws and know that they love you and they’re trying.

“And they said they laughed a lot at the scene at the end with the toaster, because they know I’m terrible in the kitchen. They always laugh at me in the kitchen because I burn things.”

Eternals is in cinemas now

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Originally published as Angelina Jolie: ‘My kids have seen me broken and in pain’