Just In: Angelina Jolie’s Movie That Gained Her Fame To The World
Girl, Interrupted!
There are only a handful of actors left in Hollywood today who embody that old-school, silver screen star power we associate with the stalwarts of the Golden Age, but Angelina Jolie is, unquestionably, one of them.
With her patrician features and penchant for red-carpet glamour – not to mention that Academy Award, earned remarkably early in her career – she entered the firmament almost three decades ago, and has remained there ever since.
Now, as her transformation into opera legend Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s sweeping, hallucinatory Maria places her in the Oscar conversation once again, following its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, we take a look back at her most memorable roles to date.
At 22, the actor took on the part of the captivating and turbulent titular model who spirals into addiction in Michael Cristofer’s affecting biopic – a role which leans into both her otherworldly beauty and innate talent for mining the pain buried deep within her characters. It resulted in a Golden Globe and SAG Award, and sent her stratospheric.
Girl, Interrupted (1999)
A Best Supporting Actress Oscar followed soon after, for her take on the charismatic, sultry and rebellious sociopath Lisa in James Mangold’s psychiatric ward-set ensemble drama. Despite the presence of Winona Ryder, Clea DuVall, Brittany Murphy, Elisabeth Moss et al, it’s impossible to take your eyes off the volatile live wire that is Angelina Jolie.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)
Racing through the jungle, swinging through ancient temples on ropes, firing shotguns and beating her enemies to a pulp, the actor established herself as a formidable – and, crucially, bankable – action star, too, in Simon West’s bombastic blockbuster, as well as Jan de Bont’s explosive 2003 franchise sequel, The Cradle of Life.
Mr & Mrs Smith (2005)
The splashy spy thriller that birthed a frenzy of speculation, tabloid headlines and one of Hollywood’s most famous marriages sees Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt turn up the heat as a pair of assassins deployed to kill each other. Under Doug Liman’s direction, it’s a rollicking romp.
Changeling (2008)
As the anguished mother of a young son (Gattlin Griffith) who suddenly vanishes in ’20s Los Angeles in Clint Eastwood’s compelling mystery, the actor delivered a powerhouse of regret, longing, sorrow and abject fury – and went on to score her second Oscar nomination.
Maleficent (2014
With her giant horns, razor-sharp cheekbones and blood red lips, Angelina Jolie morphs into the ice-cold mistress of evil for Robert Stromberg’s twisted fairytale and its Joachim Rønning-helmed 2019 follow-up, giving the devious super villain delicious bite as well as more sympathetic new dimensions.
Maria (2024)
Pablo Larraín’s love letter to transcendent diva Maria Callas is undeniably the role of a lifetime, and the actor devours it with relish, perfectly capturing the music legend’s swan-like poise, mystique, hauteur and heartbreak as she approaches the end of her life. It’s proof that, on the cusp of turning 50, Angelina Jolie is only just getting started.
