One Stop Place for Celebrity Gossips, News & more.: Playing By 'Heart': Q&A With Angelina Jolie

Much has been made over the fact that A Mighty Heart is probably your most serious role since Girl, Interrupted. Do you find that these kind of roles are very hard to come by or do you tend to pass them up in favor of mixing it up?
A bit of both. They are hard to come by but I have to say that I've been lucky and do find a balance as a woman. If I did too many films like this back to back, it would probably not be good for me [laughs]. It's good to be physical and fun and all those things and we all need balances as people. So as an artist if you are lucky enough to be able to do different films, do different genres, it's balancing. But these are certainly the most rewarding, the ones that you enter this business to do.

From an audience viewpoint, what do you think the appeal is to experiencing or reliving recent, real-life events, as traumatic as they might be?
I think there can be something cathartic about it. I think to remind us to stay on the right path. We are a country still at war. We talk about and live with terrorism. And most of us remember when Danny was kidnapped and when he was killed. We remember hearing Mariane speak. For me, just working on it as a citizen and remembering that time, [it helps thinking about] how to handle everything going on now in the world and how to make sense of it. It helped me to kind of confront all of the fears and the dangers of the world today. And also to hear a voice that is very clear like hers that helps to pull through and focus on how we can get ourselves out of this thing and how we can rise above it.

What have your interactions with Mariane Pearl been like?
We tried to first meet up [about] four years ago. We had both heard about each other as women and we had different things that we were working on internationally that were similar, and we were both single moms. So we passed notes back and forth to say, "Let's have a play date." It took us a while and then we did. But during the process of this film, we really got to know each other and spend time together and have since become friends.

Did she have any specific requests in terms of how the story would be told?
She did. She asked to stay truthful to the story and her version of that truth is her book. So we stay true to the book but we also talked to Danny's parents and tried to understand where they were coming from and really [where everybody was coming from]. But I think the reason she allowed the people involved to be the people involved was because she believed that they understood the message and that their intention in making the movie wasn't because they wanted to make a movie but that they felt it was an important message to get out. And that's all she asked.

How would you describe that message? What do you think the film says about the contemporary world climate?
I think it says a few things. I think the message is the importance of the relationships that were in that house. This film is not about two people of different faiths and one that killed the other. This film is mainly about all the people that came together to find another man. They are all of different faiths and all of different backgrounds and worked well together to try to save someone, and that that is possible. That is very much what we need more of, and need to try to find and look for today. At the same time, there are things that Mariane says about terrorism ... That poverty and lack of education breeds these kinds of terrorists and that's a fact, that's something that we all need to focus on. And not just aggression but understanding what causes people to cross over into that kind of a place. Where is it bred and why? And so many things. I think many people will see it and have a slightly different feeling one way or the other.

Did you find it emotionally draining as a mother to take on this role?
It's a strange thing. When you do something that's emotional, in some ways it's emotionally draining as a person but it makes you closer to your family. I think at the end of the day with many of these scenes, I would go home and be so grateful that I knew where my family was and that they were safe.

How instrumental was Brad in bringing this project into fruition?
Very. He was the one who bought the book. He sat down with Mariane, convinced her to sell it to him. He held onto it for a while and then helped pull all the pieces together.

You guys seem to do a good job of switching off working to care for your family. Does that get tough to manage?
No, well, if we were both acting, it would be hard with all the kids but not [with Brad] as a producer, because he was able to do so much before we started. Then once I was busy and the film had started, it was a lot of him having to maintain everything okay and I'm sure getting on the phone a lot and having some meetings. But most of all, he could spend time with the kids.

Is it possible for you to gauge the general perception of Americans when you're working or traveling in these corners of the globe? Or do you find those reactions distorted or blurred by your celebrity?
Yeah, I've been traveling for six years or something like that now, and when I first started traveling there was a lot more enthusiasm for America and, "You're American ... I want to go to America ... I love America." But now it's a lot more hesitant ... There is just a feeling out there that isn't that positive and it makes me very sad because the American people are very generous, open people and very caring when they are presented with a real issue and they understand what needs to be done. But somehow I think [that] is not crossing over into our foreign policy.

By Kevin Polowy - AOL Movies