Angelina Jolie says ‘change in family situation’ meant she took more acting than directing jobs

Angelina Jolie has opened up about why she has taken on more acting roles than directing jobs so she could be closer to her children. 

The Maleficent star, 45, had spent many years as a director since her directorial debut in 2011’s In The Land Of Blood And Honey, but found that working behind the camera meant she had to spend more time away from her family than acting jobs did.

She explained to Entertainment Weekly: ‘I love directing, but I had a change in my family situation that’s not made it possible for me to direct for a few years. 

‘I needed to just do shorter jobs and be home more, so I kind of went back to doing a few acting jobs. That’s really the truth of it.’

It comes after Angelina split from Brad Pitt, 57, in 2016 after two years of marriage and over a decade together. 

The couple have had an ongoing divorce battle and share six children, Maddox, 19, Pax, 17, and Zahara, 16, who were adopted, and Shiloh, 14 and 12-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne who Angelina had with Brad. 

Angelina’s latest project has been her new film Those Who Wish Me Dead, but she will also be making her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut with Eternals in November. 

In the former, a survival thriller, Angelina plays expert smokejumper Hannah, which involved doing a lot of stunts. 

She explained: ‘There’s nothing about this character that trained in martial arts or did anything special. I get pretty beaten up through this.

‘The first day we were in the fire, [I noticed] the heat and how quickly the winds would change and how quickly the fire would suddenly take to a tree that you weren’t expecting.

‘Our respect just grew day after day for these people on the front lines and how difficult this work is.’

Those Who Wish Me Dead will be released on May 21. 

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