Angelina Jolie calls her ‘Eternals’ character a big troubled soul

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, who essays the role of Thena in Chloe Zhao's superhero film "Eternals," describes her character as someone who is not very comfortable during peace time and this trait emanates from the moral injury of the character.

Due to her special ability to manipulate cosmic energy to augment her life force which grants her virtual invulnerability and immortality, Thena is known for being a social misfit.

Commenting on this, Angelina says, "Thena is like a soldier who is affected by the memories of battle and has PTSD or moral injury to live with. Thena just assumes that a fight's coming at her rather than care and kindness."

Talking about the complexities of her character, Angelina says, "So she's quite wired, and a lot of her struggle is just holding on to her mind and her center and her peace. I understand her, and how she feels."

She further adds, "Thena is not comfortable in peace time. She doesn't know how to exist as a civilian or as a lover or as a friend, but she does know war. She knows who she is in combat. But she doesn't know how to go to a party or socialise. She just doesn't have those skills."

The film, which features an ensemble of Salma Hayek, Kit Harington, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden and Kumail Nanjiani, is available to stream on Disney+ Hotstar in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.

Jolie made her screen debut as a child alongside her father, Jon Voight, in “Lookin' to Get Out” (1982), and her film career began in earnest a decade later with the low-budget production “Cyborg 2” (1993), followed by her first leading role in a major film, “Hackers” (1995). She starred in the critically acclaimed biographical cable films “George Wallace” (1997) and “Gia” (1998), and won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1999 drama “Girl, Interrupted.”

Her starring role as the video game heroine Lara Croft in “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” (2001) established her as a leading Hollywood actress. She continued her action-star career with “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” (2005), “Wanted” (2008), “Salt” (2010), and “The Tourist” (2010), and received critical acclaim for her performances in the dramas “A Mighty Heart” (2007) and “Changeling” (2008), the latter of which earned her a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Her biggest commercial success came with the fantasy picture “Maleficent” (2014). She is also known for her voice role in the animation film series “Kung Fu Panda.”

Jolie has also directed and written several war dramas, namely “In the Land of Blood and Honey” (2011), “Unbroken” (2014), and “First They Killed My Father” (2017).

In addition to her film career, Jolie is known for her humanitarian efforts, for which she has received a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and made an honorary Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (DCMG), among other honours.

Agencies