“It helped heal a part of me”: Angelina Jolie on playing Maria Callas in her latest Pablo Larraín film

Angelina Jolie, the face of Pablo Larraín’s latest biopic based on the life story of the world’s greatest opera singer Maria Callas, calls it the most demanding yet rewarding role. During an interview with Deadline, the Oscar-winning actress called Maria a “unique” character.

“I mean, it’s certainly the biggest challenge,” she added, referring to the seven months she spent learning six of the many dramatic arias most associated with the prima donna singer, who died of a heart attack in her Paris in 1977.

The screenplay, written by Steven Knight, follows Callas in her final days as she recalls her triumphs on the world’s most famous opera stages, only to realize that she can never surpass those successes. Her tragedy parallels her unsuccessful romance with the shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.

The unique script combined with the director of Jolie’s dream made the project a no-brainer for her. “I’m not asked to do this type of work very often. And if that’s what’s asked of me, it doesn’t happen often with this kind of material and this director, so things like that only come once in a lifetime,” she added.

Speaking about her experience working on the film, the Maleficent actress said that it was beyond anything she could have imagined and that playing someone she admired was like a gift that allowed for emotional healing . “[The role] changed me as a person. It helped heal a part of me,” she added. When asked how exactly the film influenced her, Jolie said it was too personal to explain.

“From that first day [on set] “I couldn’t breathe and cried while singing at the top of my lungs at La Scala – those moments changed me,” she said. The wanted actress revealed that she has not been able to listen to Callas’ recordings since the end of the film.

Maria had its world premiere at the 2024 Venice Film Festival and received great reviews and an 8-minute standing ovation. The film will be released in select theaters on November 27th and will be streamed on Netflix from December 11th.