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In a recent candid interview with the Wall Street Journal Magazine, actor Angelina Jolie shared intimate insights into her life, revealing a different perspective on the entertainment industry and her personal journey through the trials of stardom.
Jolie didn't hold back when discussing her views on Hollywood, a place she described as "quite a shallow place." Despite being a product of Hollywood as the daughter of actor Jon Voight, she admitted to not being deeply impressed by it.
She said she plans to leave Los Angeles after finalizing her divorce from actor Brad Pitt, noting that Hollywood "is not a healthy place" generally. She noted that the last few years gave her and her family an opportunity to heal from the "things we needed to heal from."
Jolie expressed doubts about her career trajectory if she were starting out today, suggesting that the expectation that actors be increasingly more public is unreasonable.
She said:
“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."
"I grew up in quite a shallow place. Of all the places in the world, Hollywood is not a healthy place. So you seek authenticity."
She also delved into her relationship with the public, underscoring why setting boundaries is necessary:
"They’ve also chosen how they want you. 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. I’m not the one [who] you want to hear about my pain or my sadness. You know, that’s not entertaining.”
Jolie said that she gets a lot of personal satisfaction from her humanitarian work aiding refugees, noting that "four out of six of the women that I am close to are from war and conflict":
“There’s a reason people who have been through hardship are also much more honest and much more connected, and I am more relaxed with them. Why do I like spending time with people who’ve survived and are refugees? They’ve confronted so much in life that it brings forward not just strength, but humanity.”
Many appreciated Jolie's insights and candor.
Jolie signaled she'll likely spend more time at her home in Cambodia, where she adopted her son Maddox while filming Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in 2001.
She is currently leading Atelier Jolie, a sustainable fashion initiative. She has signed on to some new projects, including a third Maleficent film for Disney and a biopic of the late opera star Maria Callas. She is also producing a Broadway production of the S.E. Hinton novel The Outsiders that will open in April.