Exclusive: Working with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt was very special, says Archie Panjabi

Jun 14 2009 By Steve Hendry

ARCHIE PANJABI swapped the glamour of the Hollywood A-list for a dreary Scottish winter in her latest role.

Making BBC comedy Personal Affairs in the shadow of the River City set in damp Dumbarton might feel a little flat after Los Angeles.

But her pal Angelina Jolie has taught the stunning actress – who plays a b***y boss in the show – how to keep her feet on the ground.

Archie, 34, starred with the Oscar-winning beauty in A Mighty Heart, the acclaimed true story of the search for kidnapped American journalist Daniel Pearl.

Meeting Angelina and her partner Brad Pitt – who helped produce the film – proved a lesson in humility.

Archie said: “Angelina Jolie was phenomenal to work with. We got on very well. I’m still friends with her.

“You go thinking, ‘What will she be like? What’s Brad Pitt going to be like?’ But I’ve met hundreds of actors with more arrogance than those two. That’s the biggest shock.

“I spent two and half months shooting with her so I know it’s not just a front. I came back thinking ‘I can’t take any actor being arrogant’.

“If she can be so down to earth and have so much respect for people then there’s no excuse.

“She’s been such a big role model to me. I learnt a lot from her as a woman, how to hold yourself, how to behave, how to talk. Brad was very nice too.

“They made people working on the film feel like family. It was a strange experience but very special.”

Archie, who won the Breakout Performance Award at the Cannes Film Festival for her role in A Mighty Heart, has also starred alongside Russell Crowe in A Good Year, Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce in Traitor and in hit British films East Is East and Bend It Like Beckham.

While she values the humble attitude of her co-stars, she could be forgiven the odd hissy fit on Personal Affairs.

Her dressing room is a tiny, windowless caravan a stone’s throw from Shieldinch and a very long way from Hollywood.

She laughed: “It’s a bit like when you go on your first business class flight – economy seems a really big let down by comparison.

“But you don’t let yourself get too carried away. I just get excited about getting on the plane in the first place.

“I don’t come back here thinking my dressing room is not big enough.

“The role is like nothing I’ve done before so that is really stimulating.

“The worst thing is to be on a huge Hollywood film and be in a really crap role. I get very agitated if I’m not having to try.” Personal Affairs is BBC Three’s flagship show of the summer – a glossy, sexy and surreal new comedy drama about four PAs working in a London investment bank………..

but i agree with you guys, he’s not going to pose for an underwear pic. only Angie could see him in that! hahaha! very Lucky woman! i remember Angie said that she could wear sexy clothes but not with the kids around. so maybe Brad is like that too!

I posted 3rd.