Angelina Jolie makes heartbreaking admission about her career

Despite all of Angelina Jolie's awards, accolades and extensive filmography credits throughout her career, she has made a startling admission about the way she views her work in a new interview.

Jolie, 49, is set to star in the forthcoming psychological drama Maria, which chronicles the life of opera singer and Greek soprano Maria Callas.

The film is set in the final years of Callas' life, when she was residing in Paris.

Maria was directed by Pablo Larraín, who preceded the film with Jackie (2016) and Spencer (2021).

In an interview with Radio Times, Jolie shared what led her to take the the role, stating: “It was a challenge. As artists you want to take on something that you are afraid of, that you’re not sure you can do.”

She also shared her passion towards working with Larraín, adding: “My first step in was Pablo,” she says. “I’ve always wanted to work with him.”

Larraín opened up about her thoughts towards Callas, adding: "Callas achieved such a level of beauty and perfection in what she did. She changed opera and had a big influence in the history of fashion and yet really we know very little about her.”

Angelina Jolie with Maria director, Pablo Larraín (James Devaney/GC Images)

The shocking moment of the interview comes when Jolie admits she doesn't feel as though she has been taken seriously throughout her career.

When the interviewer asks if celebrities are more 'protected' now than in the past, Jolie responded: “I don’t know if it’s protected, or if it’s turned into something cheaper.

"When you think about the old interviews there was a fuller conversation that was able to be had. I watched Callas’s really old interviews and they spent hours talking to her about her craft. Nobody’s ever done that for me. She was taken seriously.”

Jolie portrays Maria Callas (Pablo Larraín/Netflix)

She continued: "I haven’t allowed myself to just enjoy [being an artist], because things become about celebrity or business.

"It is a gift to be allowed to live a life as an artist, and this role has helped make me rediscover art and being an artist. I am rediscovering that through Maria.”

Jolie then shared her own thoughts towards Callas, who she has sought to embody in the film.

She said: "Today, so much is about what is popular and what hits the algorithm.

"Punk was the opposite. It was defiance against what was shoved down your throat and what everybody liked and what was normal. Punk wasn’t complacency or following. So I think in her own way Maria Callas was a punk.”