Why Angelina Jolie Says She Has a 'New Relationship to' the Word 'Diva' After Playing Opera Singer Maria Callas

Mar. 15, 2025

Angelina Jolie as opera singer Maria Callas inMaria(2024).Photo:Pablo Larraín

Pablo Larraín

“I think it’s often come with a lot of negative connotations,” said Jolie, 49, at the panel on Thursday, Aug. 29. “I think I’ve re-learned that word through Maria … and I have a new relationship to it.”

“I think it is often other people’s perception of a woman that defines, sometimes too much, who she is and who she was, or what she intended,” she added. “And I actually think [Maria] was one of the hardest-working people, who didn’t hurt anybody.”

“So I suppose it’s everybody in this room that makes that definition sometimes, but the true definition may be [that] the great composers define it differently,” Jolie said.

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Angelina Jolie as opera singer Maria Callas inMaria(2024).Pablo Larraín

“I thinkthe way I related to hermay be a surprise — [it was] probably the part of her that’s extremely soft and doesn’t have room in the world to be as soft as she truly was, and as emotionally open as she truly was,” Jolie continued.

Preparing to play Callas was no easy feat, as the actress “spent almost seven months training” for the vocal portion of the role.

“My first time singing, I remember being so nervous,” Jolie said. “Mysons were there and they helpedto block the door [so] that nobody else was coming in, and I was shaky.”

“And [directorPablo Larraín], in his decency, started me in a small room and ended me in La Scala,” she added. “So he gave me time to grow. I was frightened to live up to [Callas].”

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Angelina Jolie at the premiere ofMariaduring the 81st Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Aug. 29, 2024.Andreas Rentz/Getty

Andreas Rentz/Getty

During the Venice press conference, Jolie was asked how she feels about potential Oscar buzz surrounding her performance, and replied that the “bar” for her on whether she “did good enough” is more the reaction from fans of Callas “and those who love opera.”

“My fear would be to disappoint them,” she added. “So of course all other things, in my own business, if there’sa response to the work, I’m very grateful.”

Netflix has acquired the rights toMaria,but a release date has not yet been announced. The Venice Film Festival runs from Aug. 28 to Sept. 7.

source: people.com