Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing
Angelina Jolie has opened up about a time she was in such a dark place that she almost hired a hitman to take her life.
In 2001, she revealed that there was once a time where she considered trying to pay someone money to kill her, rather than have her family think she had died by taking her own life.
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The Tomb Raider star believed her family would be able to come to terms easier if they believed she had been murdered.
However, Angelina shared that when she had previously made the decision to reach out to a potential hitman, he asked one question which made her stop and reconsider.
Angelina said to IMDb: "This is going to sound insane but there was a time I was going to hire somebody to kill me."
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She later told The Face in 2003 about trying to track down a hitman, saying: "They’re not that hard to find in New York. As insane as it sounds, I think a lot of people consider suicide when they’re young.
"I was very aware that so many people around me, like my mother, would feel as though they didn’t give enough or do enough, if I’d taken my own life."
She continued: "So my solution to that was if someone else had taken my life – like in a 'robbery' - then it would be murder and it wouldn’t be that anyone would feel they’d let me down."
Angelina had even thought about how to pay for it in such a way so as not to draw attention, explaining that she planned to 'take out cash over a certain amount of time, so there wasn’t a big chunk in my bank account'.
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She went on to say that the hitman asked her one very important question which went on to save her life.
She said: "He was a decent enough person and asked if I could think about it and call him again in two months. Something changed in my life and I figured I’d stick it out."
In 2011, she went on to tell 60 Minutes that she 'went through heavier, darker times' and 'survived them'.
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"I didn't die young, so I’m very lucky. There are other artists and people who didn’t survive certain things." Angelina said. "I think people can imagine that I did the most dangerous and I did the worst.
"For many reasons I shouldn’t be here. You think of those too many times where you came close to too many dangerous things, too many chances taken too far."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
Topics: Angelina Jolie, Mental Health, Celebrity
Jen Thomas