I don't own a pair of jeans: Angelina

Unfazed by her superstar status, Angelina Jolie fields private questions on her feminine side, stepping The Tourist co-star Johnny Depp's toes, and deficiencies in her wardrobe

It's a truism combining words like 'Angelina Jolie' and 'glamorous', and yet that's exactly how the 35 year-old comes across in her white blouse and light-coloured pants -- an effect which is also enhanced by the posh surroundings of an ultra-luxurious Paris hotel. And the same image is conveyed by her upcoming romantic thriller, The Tourist, which has her outsmarting cops and robbers and falling for Johnny Depp against the glorious backdrop of Venice. She even gives the impression there's nothing she'd rather talk about than her kids.



Your character in The Tourist has a double identity -- did you bring anything from your own experiences to that?
We all have that moment where we are not sure of where we are at. But I'm more decisive than Elise. I'd be quicker to make a decision.

What's the definition of women's beauty?
I think there's a sense of living honestly. What you see I think is mistaken sometimes as beauty is when somebody is pretending to be something that they are not comfortable with. When somebody is comfortable, and they are honest and they just are who they are and they live as they want to live and they speak honestly, then they are appealing as people. A woman has beauty and strength, because she's clean and honest.

Is this softer side that we see in the movie representative of the true Angelina?
There's a side of me that can be very female that's more private, that Brad knows.

Did you know how you would look in the finished film?
I knew I had to try to look my best in this film. I spent a lot of time on hair and make-up. I did all these traditional girl things that you try to do to look good. And we had a lot of wardrobe fittings to try to make the clothes fit perfectly and find the right colour. And I tried to be patient, because it takes a long time to be a girl.

Even for you?
Yes. For this film there was so much emphasis on style that you can't just go out like in "Salt" in pants and a black shirt. The shoes had to match the bag, the nails had to be done every day. It was fun for the first few weeks, but then I was so happy that she was gone. I don't think I could maintain that kind of woman. She is very high maintenance.

So off-set you're the complete opposite?
In my life, I only brush my hair very often. I try to be and I have to be because of kids I try to be as low maintenance as possible, so I can get up and be ready and do things and not take too much time for that.

Does it affect you that you're surrounded by photographers and all the eyes are on you?
You put an extra pair of sunglasses in your bag. But you try to not live your life that way, otherwise it would drive you nuts. For press events you know there is this week where I go to hair and make-up and get dressed nicely. But most of the time I am not here, so I get to relax.

Are you a jeans girl?
No, I don't own a pair of jeans.

Not at all?
It's an odd confession. But I realised into building our family that if I had jeans and T-shirts in my wardrobe, I would end up wearing them all the time, so I had to not have them. To force myself to not fall into that every day.

What are the favourite places that you visited in this film?
Well, we started the film in Paris and I think that really helped me to get into the character being such a sophisticated lady, because just Paris makes you feel that way, feel more romantic, and more elegant, and then Venice, we really got to live there. We lived there for two months, so it was a place where the kids could go to school, they had an Italian teacher, we went on the boats and we really moved there.u00a0

Did you pick up any Italian in Venice?
No, not really. Grazie (laughs). Prego. There you go.u00a0

Is it true that you bought a house in Valpolicella?
I wish. (laughs)u00a0 It would be fantastic. I know nothing of this story, but it sounds fantastic. That is a surprise for me.

You spend a lot of time France?
We haven't been able to. But because of worku00a0 we have to spend time all over the world. We wanted to teach our children a second language. And we chose French, so they speak French and some better than others...

Who's the best?
Maddox.u00a0 He always gets As on his French dictation, which I find extraordinary, because I wouldn't. (laughs) I do terrible.u00a0

Given that you're having a real-life soap opera for many, is it easier perhaps to live a normal life in Europe then it is in America?
We don't read anything and we don't pay any attention and so it's hard to know kind of what's said about us in one country or another, but I feel like there's less focus in France.

Do you like the name brand 'Brangelina'?
No.

When is it difficult to be yourself?
Yesterday we were driving with our kids to the aquarium and then we were coming home to see the Champs-Elysees... how beautiful it is. The kids wanted to go out and go shopping at the little market, but then you have 20 people behind you. And you just can't.

What do you tell them?
I tell them that we find time to go and then we have to get back to the house. And then sometimes we try to sneak out. Sometimes for us the easiest thing to do is to sneak out the front door, because everybody is checking the back door.

How do you organise your career with six kids?
It sounds that I do more than I do. But I am very fortunate -- I can work for two months onu00a0 The Tourist and then be off for five months. Most working mothers have to work a lot more than I do. And also, we do take turns always working, so Brad right now is hopefully packing because we have to get on a plane tonight with the kids. And that's the only way that we've been able to make it work, but he is an extraordinary father. So I have this great partner.u00a0

What was the best part for you about working with Johnny (Depp) on this movie?
Just having so much fun. These type of films, in order for them to work, I think you can't take yourself too seriously, you have to have a laugh and you want people to watch the movie to smile and have fun. We just laughed through the whole film and had fun.

This is your first film with him. Can you describe your chemistry with him?
We have a lot in common. Our families are very similar. We both like to spend time in France. And we became fast friends.

This is one of the few times that you do a dance in a movie. How did you approach that?
We had a dance class together. We laughed through the first one and couldn't get through it and stepped on each other's feet, and then we eventually figured out how to do it. I wish there were outtakes of us trying to do dance together.