Angelina Jolie says playing Maria Callas in 'Maria' "helped heal a part of me"

She called it a "once in a lifetime" role, adding, "I mean, it's certainly the most challenging."

'Maria' is a film about opera singer Maria Callas. It is directed by Pablo Larrain, written by Steven Knight, and produced by Fremantle.

Angelina spent seven months memorising six of the tragic arias linked with Callas, who died of a heart attack at her Paris home on September 16, 1977. She was 53.

Playing such a role itself comes with a responsibility and Jolie shared that she always wanted to work with director Pablo Larrain and for her getting "this kind of work is not asked" very often. "And if it's asked of me, it's not often with this kind of material and this director, so these things come once in a lifetime," she added.

Her experience in the film, "to be in the footsteps of someone you truly admire," as she puts it, "was beyond anything I could imagine, and it was a gift emotionally for me."

While talking about the role, she said, it "changed me as a person. It helped heal a part of me."

The role, she says, "changed me as a person. It helped heal a part of me."

Recalling how she prepared for the role and how it affected her personally, she shared, "It would be too personal to explain. But from that first day [on set] not being able to breathe and crying to singing at the top of my lungs at La Scala, Milan, those moments changed me," according to Deadline.

'Maria' recently received an eight-minute standing ovation at its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, held at the Sala Grande Theatre. Moved by the reception, Jolie was seen wiping away tears.

Larrain's biographical drama follows the American Greek soprano Maria Callas as she retreats to Paris after a glamorous yet tumultuous life in the public eye. The film reimagines her final days as she grapples with her identity and legacy.

'Maria' is produced by Jonas Dornbach, Janine Jackowski, Juan de Dios Larrain and Lorenzo Mieli. (ANI)