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Robert De Niro went to Russia and he met with the KGB. Matt Damon met with the CIA for The Good Shepherd. Did you do any research in that area?
“I didn't because most of the people they could all talk to were really the men in the CIA. The women like Clover were kind of absent or had been quieted or moved to Arizona. One of them did actually… Actually, a true story, somebody's living there now. She's loosely based on a few people. It was almost impossible to talk to the women. I think that the reality is that the women knew so little. There would be very little to talk about. My choice was almost to really talk to nobody, really understand nothing, and be trapped in this world where sometimes De Niro's character would come in. I hadn't focused on exactly who he was in the script and exactly what he did, and I didn't do my research. He walked in and I wasn't really sure who
he was. That was kind of how I just stayed in the dark.”
Do you believe self-deception is a necessary evil in a relationship?
“In general in my life or in the character's life in this movie? No, I think quite the opposite is the only thing that works. I don't want to spend my life having to pretend to be somebody else. I don't want the person next to me to have to pretend, ever, because we have a long life ahead of us. You want to just be able to be who you are in every moment, and that's the only way you'll ever be truly happy anyway.”
You’re living in a world where you don’t always know who to trust, where you’re in effect being spied on as a celebrity. How does it affect you?
“I've made a point to not let it change the way I live my life, other than I carefully plan my holidays or where we go, or where we stay or things like that, to try and ensure some kind of quality of life that's private and nice for the kids. But we simply don't let it affect us. I think the only time it is
hard is when the kids want to go somewhere. I've had so many people offer to
take my children to Disneyland or places that I can't take them, and they don't
understand how upsetting that is. To take my kids trick or
treating or take my kids to things they assume I can't do. So we plan to find ways
to do all of those things. And there are worse problems…”
How do you manage everything?
“I plan a lot, obsessively. I'm very, very lucky. I love the different elements in my life and I love working abroad. I love being with my kids and I love being with Brad. This is the life I chose to have. I'd like to add many more children and many more obstacles and many more things.”
You’ve done humanitarian work in countries where the CIA operates behind the scenes. Have you ever experienced any direct or indirect activity in the cultures or the political structures of the countries you’ve visited?
“That's such a huge question. I've never been clearly aware of something specific, but I think certainly I have witnessed our foreign policy and witnessed the change in the perception of America's foreign policy in the last few years. Every trip I take the feel has been different because of the changes we have made. And I'm sure the CIA has had a hand in that.”
What are the changes you’ve observed?
”To be completely honest, I think about five years ago when I started traveling and I'd say I was American, everyone was very, very excited and thought it was the greatest thing in the world - and the greatest place in the world. And now there's a certain… You feel cautious. You feel that people are a bit not so joyful about that. They're questioning my country. You know, people say things like, ‘It's extraordinary you’re here because you're American,’ and that's not true to the American people. The American people are very caring, generous people. That's been proven with the work every individual household has done abroad, and the charity they do and who we are as a people. But it's not what our government has represented in the last few years, I think. So it's been difficult to go to places abroad and just see there isn't… I think we all know exactly what I'm saying (laughter)…”
Has your social activism changed the roles you want to do? Do you see characters and films from a political perspective first?
“No. I think it's important to just have fun and not take everything so seriously because I think there's room for entertainment in this world. That's most of the movies I go to with my kids. That's part of what we do. I'm not a politician. I am just an actor, and just supposed to entertain and tell
stories, so I remember that. But certainly when a film project comes along like this one, or like Mighty Heart, the Mariane Pearl story, they are ones that take a priority in my life and are ones that I enjoy more in a different way and are a very different experience. But I think the thing right now that makes the big choice is kind of how long is it shooting. I don't think I've shot more than seven weeks on a movie in two years. I need to make sure I have time with my kids.”
Would you work with Brad Pitt again?
“Who's going watch the children?”
Page 3: Angelina Jolie on Her Work with Refugees and What's Happening with Sin City 2 and Atlas Shrugged
