Exclusive Interview with Angelina Jolie as 'Maleficent' #MaleficentEvent

When you're about to interview a star as big as Angelina Jolie, it's hard not to be nervous. Just knowing that she accepted the request of being interviewed, face-to-face, by 25 women bloggers is an honor in itself. And when you make the announcement that, yes, you are in fact going to be sitting down with the star of MALEFICENT, friends and family come out of the woodwork with questions—

What's Angelina like? ...Is she nice? ...Is she as beautiful in person as she is on screen?

Well, I'm happy to be back with all of those answers and more about her role as Maleficent. First, because I know you're curious, Angelina is simply stunning in person. Seriously, it was hard not to stare — in a totally non-creepy type of way. But more than her physical appearance, her personality is what really drew me in. Angelina was 100% genuine and completely down to earth. Most importantly, I could tell that she was a fantastic mother. One of the most noteworthy parts of the interview was a bit of advice on how we can do good for others. Angelina said, "the most important thing we do is we raise our children with love and compassion to become great people and thoughtful of others. If everybody did just that, we’d have a very different world." I honestly couldn't agree more.

Of course, most of the interview focused on her role as the iconic villain from the classic “Sleeping Beauty" — a part that she nails!

Check out the full interview below, and let me know if you're excited about Disney's MALEFICENT.

How much of the Maleficent story did you know before the script?

I didn't really know anything. When I was a little girl I was fascinated by her, I didn't really identify with the princesses, at the time. Princesses have gotten a little more modern... But I thought she was just, you know, like a little kid seeing Marlene Dietrich for the first time. It was like seeing this elegant, powerful woman.

How did you find out the movie was going to get made?

There was a rumor the movie was going to get made and then I got a call from my brother. He was like, Ang, you've got to make a call to Disney. You've got to try to get in on this. So, I was very happy when I got the call.

What did you think the first time you saw yourself in full makeup and costume?

I was really happy. I was. I was really happy because we went through a few stages where, in trying to find her, that weren't so great. There was a period where we thought, okay, well she’s got wings, so she’s part bird fairy, maybe she had feather hair. We went in many, many different directions. And then at the end of the day, we said, it has to be that, because it is a real film and she has real scenes and emotional scenes, it can’t be so much makeup that you’re staring at some pasted makeup. I think they did an amazing job.

How long did it take you to get ready for filming with the hair and makeup?

I think it was about two and a half hours at the end of the day, which wasn't bad. We had a great, a great team.

What did your kids think the first time they saw you in full costume?

It was bad parenting on my part that I should have brought them in early and have them watch me get in my makeup. But I thought it would be really fun to surprise them. And they came on and some of them were fine, they just got a little, you know, quiet. Pax, ran away from me. And I made the mistake of thinking he was playing a game and I chased after him. And then realized he was upset. So, he had to come in the makeup trailer and watch me take everything off.

It was interesting because we wondered about Maleficent, we talked with Disney, like why is she considered the most evil? I mean, obviously what she does, but what is it about children that they see her, and I think that’s what happened to my children. It was because it’s a woman, and an older woman ... it's mom. And to my kids it was that figure that should be nurturing was now the figure that was slightly terrifying.

How did you find your voice that you use for this film?

My kids helped me find it. I always tell stories ... all of us have a few voices. I was giving them baths, and I was doing this thing where a few nights in a row I would tell them stories in the bath. I was trying out voices and a few they’d say, please stop. And then, sometimes, they’d listen and they’d kind of be more engaged. I kept trying and trying and trying. And then I did that voice and they couldn't stop laughing. So I kept doing it more, and more, and more... So they still make me do it. I had to do it the other night for bedtime. For the look and everything, I would kind of run it by them, and if it made them happy, made them smile, or they were interested in it, then-then it was right.

How did your daughter, Vivienne, get the part of young Aurora? What was it like working with her?

It was a tough choice to do it. I think everybody knows the reason why I objected ... because I was really scaring other kids, but [the movie] it’s not frightening for children. I kept thinking I was a Disney character and I’d want to talk to them. And they’d get mad and essentially leave. What four or five year old little girl can I be really mean to and say things like, I don’t like children, and have her be fine? We realized it was probably Viv. And it took us a while to make sure that that was an okay thing to do. But at the end of the day, I just wanted to play with her. It was really fun. There’s some really, really funny outtakes of Brad and I… the people at Disney did say it was the funniest dailies that they’d ever seen. And it exists somewhere, I haven’t seen them, I should get them. It was lovely to do it.

As a mom, how do you do it all?

Well I don’t— I’m at a very lucky position. I have a supportive partner and he and I are able to take turns working often. When you make a film, it doesn't take all year around. When I direct it does, but I get to decide when I leave in the morning and when I come home at night, and I can edit in my bedroom, and be there in case there’s an emergency with the children. So I have a very rare luxury with my job to be able to have my kids with me on set every day and home school. Other mothers have it much harder than I do, and don’t have the means to have the assistance I do. I don’t feel like I, by any means, do anything exceptional. My mom was a single mom and she had a lot of difficulty and she gave up her dreams to make sure she could take me to my auditions and support me. And nobody acknowledged her for what she did, so that was hard. I can’t complain.

I'm still in awe of the entire experience to interview such an amazing woman. Angelina Jolie really is the full package: talented, beautiful, inspiring, compassionate and above all else, a great mom.

Disney's MALEFICENT casts a spell in theaters May 30, 2014.