Angelina Jolie has gotten frank about her future in Hollywood.
The actress, who has starred in nearly 60 films, has hinted she may be coming to the end of her career on the silver screen.
In an exclusive interview with the WSJ Magazine, the Girl, Interrupted star revealed her plans to leave Los Angeles.
The Oscar winner told the magazine that she “wouldn’t be an actress today” due to the scrutiny they face.
Explaining her reason why, she said, “When I was starting out, it wasn’t as much of an expectation to be as public, to share so much.”
Responding to why she doesn’t read rumours about herself, Jolie said: “I’ve just been around so long, and there’s been everything said.”
The 48-year-old remarked: “Because I grew up around Hollywood, I was never very impressed with it, I never bought into it as significant or important.”
Angelina revealed that she eventually plans to leave Los Angeles for good, and spend more time at her home in Cambodia.
“It’s part of what happened after my divorce. I lost the ability to live and travel as freely. I will move when I can,” she said.
“I grew up in quite a shallow place. Of all the places in the world, Hollywood is not a healthy place. So you seek authenticity.”
The humanitarian went on to admit she doesn’t really have a “social life” at the moment, and that her “closest friends are refugees” who are from “war and conflict.”
During the wide-ranging interview, Angelina also shed light on her bitter divorce from Brad Pitt, and how it affected her health.
She said: “My body reacts very strongly to stress.My blood sugar goes up and down. I suddenly had Bell’s palsy six months before my divorce.”
The former couple, who share six children, decided to end their two-year marriage in 2016 after 12 years together.
The Hollywood stars have since been embroiled in many legal battles – including a custody case involving their kids Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 18, Shiloh, 17, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 15.
During an interview with Vogue in September, the actress confessed: “I feel a bit down these days. I don’t feel like I’ve been myself for a decade, in a way, which I don’t want to get into.”
Angelina explained that she started doing less film work “seven years ago, only taking jobs that didn’t require long shoots.”
“We had a lot of healing to do. We’re still finding our footing.”
While the Oscar winner didn’t reveal why she took a step back from acting, the timing coincides with the end of her marriage to Brad.
Angelina has only taken on two lead roles since 2016, including 2019’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and 2021’s Those Who Wish Me Dead.
She also had supporting roles in Marvel’s Eternals in 2021 and the 2020 film Come Away, and lent her voice to Disney’s The One and Only Ivan and the upcoming Kung Fu Panda 4.
During the same interview with Vogue, Angelina said her children have saved her from going into a much darker place in recent years.
“I was 26 when I became a mother,” she said. “My entire life changed. Having children saved me—and taught me to be in this world differently.
“I think, recently, I would’ve gone under in a much darker way had I not wanted to live for them. They’re better than me, because you want your children to be.
“Of course I’m the mother, and hopefully that safe place for them and that stability. But I’m also the one that they laugh at—and I see them taking over so many different aspects of our family.”
