Angelina Jolie, the Academy Award-winning actress known for her diverse range of roles, is receiving widespread acclaim for her portrayal of the legendary opera singer Maria Callas in the upcoming film Maria. In this deeply moving and personal role, Jolie brings the tragic and complex life of Callas to the screen, capturing both her larger-than-life persona and the vulnerability that lay beneath it.

In a recent interview, I had the privilege of speaking with Jolie about how she approached playing Callas, one of the most iconic figures in opera history. “Maria Callas is a woman with such strength and passion, but also one who carried tremendous pain throughout her life,” Jolie said. “Her story is deeply human, and that’s what drew me to her. I wanted to show both the diva and the woman behind the legend.”

Maria takes us through the final years of Callas’s life, focusing on her struggles to make a comeback while reflecting on her past—her legendary voice, her turbulent love life, and the public’s insatiable desire to judge her every move. Through it all, Callas is seen grappling with the harsh realities of fame and the overwhelming pressure that comes with being under constant scrutiny.

Jolie explained how the role resonated with her personally, noting the parallels between Callas’s experience and her own. “As a public figure, you understand the weight of constant judgment. But there’s more to Maria than what the world saw. What was important for me was to show her humanity and her vulnerability,” Jolie reflected. “In a way, Maria and I are both familiar with the feeling of being constantly analyzed. But I think we would have been friends if we had met—though she might have hated me at first,” she laughed.

The film also showcases Maria Callas’s powerful voice, and Jolie revealed that she took extensive opera lessons in preparation for the role. “I thought opera singing might be like movie singing, where you just lip-sync to a track. But I quickly learned that opera is something you can’t fake,” she said. “It was terrifying at first to know I would have to actually sing and not just pretend.”

Jolie’s dedication to the role extended to her physical training as well. She took several intense opera lessons, which she described as almost therapeutic. “Opera is like therapy,” Jolie said. “It requires you to unlock parts of yourself that you didn’t even know were there. It’s a very emotional experience.”

While Jolie admits she was nervous at first, especially with Callas’s powerful voice in her ear during shooting, she quickly adapted to the challenge. “It was such a strange feeling. Her voice was in my ear to make sure I was singing the way she did, but only my voice could be heard on set. It was nerve-wracking but exciting at the same time,” she explained.

As for her personal life, Jolie revealed that her children had a chance to visit the set of Maria. While her sons are still quite private, they did get a front-row seat to their mother’s journey as an opera singer, enduring many hours of early, and admittedly imperfect, singing practice. “They suffered through my early opera sessions at home before I got any good,” she joked, adding that it was a fun challenge for her family.

When asked if there was any part of her own life that mirrored Callas’s love for her art, Jolie spoke passionately about her role as a mother. “Motherhood is everything to me. My children are my happiness, and nothing else matters. That’s the one thing in my life that compares to Maria’s devotion to singing.”

Maria will hit select theaters next Wednesday, with its Netflix release scheduled for December 11th. With Jolie’s deeply emotional and powerful performance as Maria Callas, it’s clear that this role is one of her most memorable and may very well earn her yet another Academy Award nomination. If you haven’t already, be sure to mark your calendar to watch Maria and witness this incredible transformation.