Angelina Jolie has spent decades as a celebrated actress, earning an Academy Award for her performance in Girl, Interrupted and staking a claim for herself as one of the most sought out performers in the industry. In recent years, however, her career has been shifting - and recent quotes indicate that she may soon be ready to leave the acting game for good.
Since 2011, when she made her directorial debut with the dark drama In The Land of Blood and Honey, Angelina Jolie has been starting to focus more on her career as a director instead of an actress, and in a recent interview with DuJour she has revealed that her end game is to leaving the acting world behind and instead turn her attention to her blossoming run as a filmmaker. Discussing her feelings about performing, Jolie told the magazine,
"I’ve never been comfortable as an actor; I’ve never loved being in front of the camera. I didn’t ever think I could direct, but I hope I’m able to have a career at it because I’m much happier."
The reporter followed up by asking if she is planning to retire from acting entirely, and Jolie responded, "Absolutely."
Angelina Jolie is just starting her career as a director, but the truth is that acting is in her blood. As is widely known, she is the daughter of fellow-Oscar winner Jon Voight, and she made her big screen debut when she was just seven years old, working with her father in the 1982 comedy Lookin' to Get Out. Her next feature work wouldn't come for another 11 years, when she appeared alongside Elias Koteas in the direct-to-video Cyborg 2. From there came roles in movies like Hackers and Foxfire, and her star-power grew from there.
Being as successful as she has been as an actress should certainly help her career as a director - not to mention the fact that she has been earning quite a lot of buzz as a filmmaker. Her sophomore effort, the true story-based drama Unbroken, is predicted to be a contender during this year's Oscar season - and it doesn't hurt that she is working from a script worked on by Joel and Ethan Coen. Incredibly enough, she has also already finished filming her third film, By The Sea, which is a romantic drama in which she stars with her husband, Brad Pitt. That title is currently in post-production, and expected to be released some time next year.
It will certainly be a blow to the acting industry to see an talent of Angelina Jolie's caliber depart, but this could very likely be a great thing in the end. After all, Hollywood is severely lacking in the female directors department, and Jolie could possibly wind up being the leader of a new wave as she transitions behind the camera. My fingers are certainly crossed.
