Angelina Jolie revealed

How hard was it to play a rejected, unloved wife?

Angelina Jolie: '(Laughs) Well, I do have two divorces behind me but I'm still good friends with them, so it's still okay. It's easier to play that kind of stuff when you have a balanced home. If I did have alcoholism in my personal life or that experience, it might have been much more uncomfortable to get 'in there'. I've never had that kind of relationship with a man because I've always married artists; they're a very talkative and expressive bunch.

What attracted you to this role?

Angelina Jolie: 'There were many things about her that were broken, and often I don't get to play that part. I think that's why it took a while for Bob (Robert De Niro) to decide that I should play that part. She is more subservient, she is more vulnerable and she is very broken. But as a woman, as much as there are certain things in my life I do feel strong about, there are pieces of me that are broken too.'

Do you think that self-deception is a necessary evil in a relationship?

Angelina Jolie: 'No, I think quite the opposite is the only thing that works. I don't want to spend my life having to pretend to be somebody else. I don't want the person next to me to have to pretend because we have a long life ahead of us. So you want to just be able to be who you are in every moment, and that's the only way you'll ever be truly happy.'

Has your humanitarian work influenced the roles you want to play?

Angelina Jolie: 'I think it's important to just have fun and not take everything so seriously. I'm not a politician. I am just an actor, and just supposed to entertain and tell stories - I remember that. But certainly when a film project comes along like this one, they're the ones that take priority.'