Angelina Jolie is getting candid about some of the difficulties of Hollywood.
During a conversation with Variety‘s Clayton Davis at the 36th Palm Springs International Film Festival on Friday, Jan. 3, the Maria actress said she will “often stress that it’s really important to live a very full life” when she meets “young artists who ask me for advice.”
“There’s a lot to focus on just having a career — if you love theater, you can do readings at home in your pajamas,” continued Jolie, 49. “You don’t have to get that job. Find the ways to just live as an artist, be around artists, but also live a very full life. It’s sometimes not a healthy business.”
Added the Oscar winner, “It’s not the easiest place, and it’s not where you should give everything if you’re living a full life.”
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Monica Schipper/WireImage
Angelina Jolie at the 36th Palm Springs International Film Festival Film Awards in Palm Springs, California, on Jan. 3, 2025
Jolie, who was honored with the festival’s Desert Palm Achievement Award on Friday at the Palm Springs Convention Center, also addressed during the conversation with Davis the fact that she “had never sung” before being cast as opera legend Maria Callas in director Pablo Larraín’s biopic.
“I had somebody once tell me I couldn’t sing or be a little dismissive when I was singing once, and it really shut me down,” she said. “I never told anybody, but it was part of my life that I just blocked.”
“Then when Pablo asked me to do this and asked me if I could sing, I lied,” Jolie continued. ” ‘Can you ride a horse?’ ‘Yes.’ Obviously, nobody can sing like Maria. No one. But I’ll do my best.”
The actress has earned rave reviews and recognition, including nominations at the recent 2025 Golden Globe Awards and upcoming Critics Choice Awards.
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Pablo Larraín/Netflix © 2024
Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas in Maria (2024)
Related: Angelina Jolie Says Acting Became ‘Harder’ After Her Mom’s Death: ‘I Realized How Much of It Was for Her’
While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter for an interview published in August 2024 about starring in Maria and directing 2024’s Without Blood, Jolie also discussed appreciating those closest to her.
Asked which “close friend” she’d be calling in the early hours of the morning, the actress and mother of six responded, “I don’t really have those kinds of relationships. Maybe it’s losing your parent young. Maybe it’s working. Maybe it’s being somebody who’s been betrayed a lot.”
“I don’t have a lot of those warm, close relationships as much that I lean on. But I have a few, and a few is enough,” she continued. “My mother [the late Marcheline Bertrand] was very close to me. I lost her. I’ve had a few friends over the years not be there for my family in their hour of need.”
“I have a couple of people that I trust,” Jolie went on, adding, “What did Maria Callas die with? Two trusted people.”
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