The Herald Sun talks to Angelina Jolie

Once again, Angelina Jolie is in the media but this time it’s by choice in an effort to promote Changeling and answer some questions from the Herald Sun, an Australian publication. Based on the opening of the article, it was an interview given during her time in New York City for the movie’s premiere.

What I love most about the article is that it kicks straight into Angelina Jolie talking about how happy she is with her life right now, and that it was never something that she had expected for herself. My favorite quote is probably when she says, “Brad has always been there for me.”

As with most interviews, they asked her about the difficulties in playing a character like Christine, someone who has to live through having her son taken from her, and how she was able to portray it, being a mother herself.

As a mother, how hard was it for you to play a woman whose worst nightmare is realised when her son goes missing in The Changeling?

It was difficult because the idea of one’s son being kidnapped is one of the worst things any parent can imagine. The loss of a child and not knowing where they are or what is happening to them is probably the absolute worst thing in the world. As a mother, it was harder for me imagining that somebody was abusing my child while they were wondering why mummy wasn’t coming to save them.

What made it particularly troubling for me to put myself into this woman’s head was my own relationship with my son Maddox. I just couldn’t shake the thought of him through the whole film.

She went on to explain that Maddox was on her mind so often during filming simply because of so many similarities between him and her movie son. That must have been creepy and incredibly disconcerting. I think I would have completely freaked out.

When they asked her how complicated life is when you add twin babies, she acknowledged the difficulties but still makes it sound manageable.

It’s a little more stressful in terms of your time because you have two very tiny babies wanting your attention. But it’s also so beautiful to be part of that.

Once you have three or four children, having a few more isn’t going to alter your lifestyle that much.

Brad and I have found a way to organise our time with the children and so we stick to that. It’s also a fascinating new experience for me to have twins and look after them and have the other children seem so curious about them.

A family is a social unit in its own way and watching the children interact is part of your role as a mother.

I remember when Kelly Ripa (co-host of Live With Regis and Kelly for those of you who don’t know her) was talking about having three kids and that it wasn’t as hard with the third as the second – she put it that you have one, and you have more than one. The transition from one to more than one is rough but there isn’t as much transition after that. It sounds like Angelina is on the same wave length.

(If I can veer off-topic for one second, I can’t tell you how much I would LOVE to see Angelina Jolie and Kelly Ripa talking about kids and family life on the show. Seriously!)

She also talked about the effort they all put in to making sure they have a truly multi-cultural family.

What about teaching your kids about religion and culture?

I want to teach them about all religions, and I’m trying to find a way to do that. And when it comes to the subject of adoption, like when my daughter, who’s African, wants her hair to look straight like mummy’s . . . and I look for a Barbie that’s African, and the African Barbie has straight hair! And you know, why has Disney never made a film with an African-American princess?

Remember when we discussed the Disney comment?

It’s a great article, not too long, but a nice switch from the negativity that comes from the tabloids, that’s for sure. Read the whole thing here.

For those of you in Australia, Changeling hits theaters in February – what a long wait!

(Thank you to everyone who emailed me about the story.)