Angelina Jolie Says She Shares 'Vulnerability' with Maria Callas at Venice: 'There's a Lot I Won't Say'

Mar. 15, 2025

Angelina Jolieconnected to real-life opera singerMaria Callas, whom she portrays inPablo Larraín’s new biopicMaria.

“Well, there’s a lot I won’t say in this room, that you probably know or assume,” said Jolie, 49, with a laugh, before going into one particular trait Callas exhibited that really spoke to her.

“I think the way I related to her may be a surprise — [it was] probably the part of her that’s extremely soft and doesn’t have room in the world to be as soft as she truly was, and as emotionally open as she truly was,” the Oscar winner said.

She added of Callas, “I share her vulnerability more than anything.”

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Angelina Jolie attends a photocall forMariaduring the 81st Venice Film Festival on Aug. 29, 2024, in Venice, Italy (L); Maria Callas.Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty, Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty

Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty, Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty

Based on true accounts about Callas,Mariawill tell the “tumultuous, beautiful and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest opera singer, relived and reimagined during her final days in 1970s Paris,” according to a press release.

Angelina Jolie attends a photocall forMariaduring the 81st Venice Film Festival on Aug. 29, 2024, in Venice, Italy.Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty

Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty

Angelina Jolie as opera singer Maria Callas inMaria(2024).Pablo Larrai­n

Pablo Larrai­n

During the Venice press conference, Jolie was asked how she feels about potential Oscar buzz surrounding her performance, and replied that the “bar” for her on whether she “did good enough” is more the reaction from fans of Callas “and those who love opera.”

“My fear would be to disappoint them,” she added. “So of course all other things, in my own business, if there’s a response to the work, I’m very grateful.”

The actress went on to say that she hopesMaria, “if anything … brings more people to opera.”

“To explore it, to let it affect them and move them, ‘cause it’s such a powerful art form and so important,” Jolie said.

Netflix has acquired the rights toMariabut a release date has not yet been announced.

source: people.com